The Robot Report Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Robot Report Podcast
Join Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.
This episode explores how Nomagic is applying AI and robotics to warehouse operations, with a focus on each picking, recovery workflows, and production-grade deployment. Josh Cloer, General Manager for North America, explains why the company leans into “physical AI,” how its systems are designed for always on operations, and why real-world production data matters more than simulation alone. Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre also dig into the practical side of automation adoption, from pilot-to-production failures to the pressure on supply chain leaders to move faster without getting stuck in vendor hype. The conversation is especially useful for teams evaluating warehouse robotics, AI-assisted recovery, or flexible automation strategies.Learn more: https://nomagic.ai/
Links:Bear Robotics: https://www.bearrobotics.aiKinisi – About the acquisition ; https://www.bearrobotics.ai/blog/bear-robotics-to-acquire-kinisi-robotics– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by GreyOrangeIf you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together. GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains. GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want. Ready to go beyond your WMS? LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/
Explore the cutting-edge developments in Arm’s physical AI space as Drew Henry, EVP of Arm’s physical AI business unit, shares insights on technology innovation, market trends, and the future of robotics and autonomous systems.This episode provides a comprehensive look at how Arm is shaping the future of intelligent robotics, balancing innovative chip design, system architecture, and simulation to push the boundaries of what autonomous systems can achieve.Drew explains that Arm created its new Physical AI business unit to focus on AI embodied in machines, including robotics, autonomous vehicles, trucks, and construction systems. The big idea is that these systems need computing designed around real-world constraints like latency, power, safety, and system-level coordination.– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by GreyOrangeIf you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together. GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains. GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want. Ready to go beyond your WMS? LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/
In this episode, our guest is Akash Gupta, CEO and co-founder of GreyOrange, a company known for its innovative approach in the warehousing robotics market. Akash discusses the strategic pivot from hardware to software, emphasizing the importance of focusing on fulfillment outcomes rather than just robotic uptime. He explains how GreyOrange has evolved its Grey Matter software to support various warehouse processes and integrate with multiple technologies, highlighting the role of AI and machine learning in enhancing warehouse operations. Akash also shares insights into the challenges and opportunities in the industry, including the importance of digital twins and predictive analytics in optimizing warehouse efficiency.###– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by GreyOrangeIf you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together. GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains. GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want. Ready to go beyond your WMS? LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/
utm_campaign=fy27-q2-inside-the-robot ###– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by GreyOrangeIf you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together. GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains. GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want. Ready to go beyond your WMS? LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/
robots. Finally, they share highlights from the closing keynote interview with Noland Arbaugh, the world's first Neuralink patient, who discussed his groundbreaking journey with brain-computer interface technology.###– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport This episode is brought to you by maxon USA.If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
Discover the latest trends in programmable logic controllers (PLCs), robotics, and their integration strategies directly from Yamaha's Chief Robotics Manager, Chris Elston. This episode offers insights into automation trends, AI's role in PLC development, and practical advice for engineers.Chris shares insights into his journey from aspiring electrician to a leader in robotics and PLC integration. He discusses the evolution of PLCs, emphasizing their enduring relevance in manufacturing due to their real-time control capabilities. Chris highlighted Yamaha's efforts to simplify integration for controls engineers through function blocks and add-on instructions, which streamlines processes and enhances tech support. He also touches on the potential of AI in automation, noting its current limitations in generating ladder logic but expressing optimism about future advancements. Chris's passion for making robotics accessible and his advocacy for using existing skills resonated throughout the discussion, offering valuable perspectives on the future of automation.Mr. PLC Website - https://mrplc.com/Chris Elston on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriselston/ ###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport This episode is brought to you by maxon USA.If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419.LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
Ajay Agarwal, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, discussed his journey and insights as a venture capitalist, particularly in the robotics and AI sectors. He highlights his early investment in Kiva Systems, emphasizing the importance of systems thinking and integrated solutions in successful startups. Ajay shares his investment philosophy, focusing on founders with a deep understanding of market opportunities and the ability to connect technology with business needs. He also discusses the challenges and risks in venture capital, the importance of embracing risk, and the value of strong partnerships with founders. Ajay concludes by reflecting on the joy and challenges of his role, emphasizing the relationships with founders and the collaborative nature of his work at Bain Capital Ventures.Learn more: https://baincapitalventures.com/###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport This episode is brought to you by maxon USA.If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419.LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
SummaryIn this episode, we sit down with Eric Chan, the chief scientist and co-founder of Rhoda AI, to discuss their groundbreaking work in robotics. Rhoda AI is pioneering the use of a Direct Video Action model, which leverages internet video data to train intelligent robots. This innovative approach allows for efficient data use and the ability to tackle complex tasks with minimal training. Eric shares insights into the challenges of data collection, the potential for zero-shot learning, and the future of robot deployment in real-world applications. Join us as we explore the exciting possibilities of scalable and adaptable robotics.Learn more: https://www.rhoda.ai/ Key Takeaways:+ Rhoda AI's unique approach to robotics using video data.+ The efficiency and scalability of their training model.+ Potential for zero-shot learning in robotics.+ Insights into the challenges and future of robotics.###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport This episode is brought to you by maxon USA.If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419.LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
In this episode, Colin Angle, founder of iRobot, introduces us to his latest venture: Familiar Machines and Magic. Angle has assembled a world-class team of engineers and advisors on a mission to produce an empathetic, four-legged robotic companion.The company recently emerged from stealth, and Angle reveals his plans for the first product in their multi-year roadmap. The plan is to ship the first “familiar” next year, promising an engaging companion for both young and old.Learn more about Familiar Machines and Magic: https://www.familiarmachines.com/ ###– SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419.LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
In this episode, Neal Hansch, CEO of Silicon Foundry, shares his expertise on how startups can navigate enterprise engagement, the evolving landscape of physical AI and robotics, and the impact of macroeconomic shifts on innovation strategy. Whether you're an entrepreneur, corporate innovation leader, or investor, Neal offers valuable perspectives on fostering meaningful collaboration between emerging tech startups and large enterprises.Learn more about Silicon Foundry: https://sifoundry.com/ ###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSORS –This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha’s Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let’s face it: the PLC isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport If you’re designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419.LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us
Join us as we dive into an insightful conversation with Dr. Jan Liphardt, Stanford bioengineering professor, founder of Open Mind and OM1, and a leading voice on the intersection of robotics, AI, and human-centric design. Discover how modular AI architectures, transparency, and real-world applications are shaping the next era of physical AI.In this episode, Dr. Jan Liphardt discusses the transformative impact of modular AI systems on robotics, emphasizing the importance of transparency and safety in human-robot interactions. He explores how robots are moving from sci-fi dreams to real-world applications, particularly in education and companionship. Jan also highlights the need for continuous learning and adaptability in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
- Gemini-Powered Spot: Insights into the Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind partnership, which uses multimodal AI to give the Spot robot advanced semantic understanding and natural language control.###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guest this week is Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer at IFSIn this conversation, Christian Pedersen, Chief Innovation Officer at IFS, discusses the company's focus on asset management and its evolution in the tech space. He highlights IFS's legacy in building asset maintenance software and its current leadership in enterprise asset management. Pedersen emphasizes the integration of AI in optimizing scheduling and productivity, particularly for industries with heavy industrial assets. He discusses the shift from digital to physical AI, highlighting the role of robotics in enhancing productivity and addressing workforce challenges. Pedersen also touches on the importance of integrating digital, human, and robotic workers in workflows and the potential of robots in asset management and maintenance. The conversation explores the future of AI and robotics in enterprise settings, emphasizing the need for collaboration between digital and physical systems to achieve an autonomous enterprise.Learn more at: https://www.ifs.com/en ###Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guest this week is Chris Matthieu, VP of Developer Ecosystem for RealSense. The conversation with Matthieu primarily focuses on the future of RealSense products, the current state of the robotics market, and how Real Sense works with end users to iterate and evolve its product roadmap. Matthieu is also speaking at the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo.Follow Chris Matthieu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismatthieu/Learn more about Real Sense: https://www.realsenseai.com/ ###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guest this week is Arthur Erickson, CEO of Hylio, as he discusses the evolution and strategic direction of Hylio, an American drone company. Erickson shares the company's journey from its inception at UT Austin, where it initially aimed to create a general-purpose industrial drone, to its current focus on agricultural applications. Hylio has carved a niche in the agricultural drone market, competing against major Chinese brands by offering American-made drones that prioritize data security and customer support. The discussion highlights the impact of geopolitical trends, such as the U.S. ban on foreign drones, which has spurred interest in Western-sourced drones. Erickson also discusses the technological advancements in Hylio's drones, including AI integration for route planning and obstacle detection, and the company's expansion into other markets like solar farm maintenance and emergency response. The conversation underscores Hylio's commitment to innovation and adaptability in a rapidly evolving industry.Learn more at: https://www.hyl.io/###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guest this week is Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Robotics, who covers a wide range of topics related to the automation of heavy machinery. Boris discussed Bedrock's mission to develop autonomy technologies for construction equipment like excavators and bulldozers, aiming to make them fully operatorless. He shared insights from his experience at Waymo, highlighting parallels between autonomous vehicles and the automation of heavy machinery. The discussion also touched on the market opportunities in construction, the challenges of integrating AI with existing machinery, and the future of the construction industry with increased automation. Boris emphasized the importance of safety and the potential for automation to transform not just construction but also other industries such as agriculture and manufacturing.The conversation concluded with Boris outlining Bedrock's immediate goals, including moving from supervised autonomy to fully operatorless deployments.Learn more at: https://bedrockrobotics.com/ Cohost this week is The Robot Report’s associate editor, Brianna Wessling. She recaps her trip this week to attend the NVIDIA GTC 2026 event in San Jose Ca.###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
We dive into how robotic-powered automation and strategic partnerships are enabling manufacturers to switch product lines instantly and future-proof hardware production.Discover how Machine Labs is transforming manufacturing with flexible, robotic-powered factories that can switch products instantly. In this episode, Ed Mehr shares insights on software-defined factories, advanced automation, and strategic partnerships shaping the future of hardware production.Learn more at: https://machinalabs.ai/ Show timeline0:30 - Gene Demaitre recaps Autonomation World 20269:43 - News of the week26:27 - Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
On the show this week, our guest is Dinesh Narayanan, Head of Commercialization, General Robotics.Dinesh shares insights into the founding of General Robotics, highlighting the transition from Microsoft and the development of their proprietary platform, Grid. This platform aims to streamline the deployment and scaling of robotics solutions by integrating simulation, AI models, and deployment pipelines. Dinesh emphasizes the importance of adaptability in AI techniques and the company's focus on providing rapid prototyping and deployment capabilities. The conversation also touched on the potential of humanoid robots and the role of Grid in facilitating their development. Dinesh concludes by discussing the company's business model and future aspirations, drawing parallels to the impact of platforms like AWS and Azure in the tech industry.###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
On the show this week, our guests are Andrew Singletary, CEO, and Amir Sharif, COO of 3Laws. They discuss the evolution of the 3Laws technology from academic research to practical applications, the challenges of startup leadership, and the importance of integrating safety into the design process. The conversation highlights the innovative approaches 3Laws is taking to democratize autonomy and ensure safety in robotics, emphasizing the need for deterministic safety systems in an increasingly AI-driven world. We also learn the differences between their products, Supervisor Pro and Supervisor for ROS, and how these solutions cater to different market needs. The discussion highlights the significance of customization in safety solutions, the role of safety certification, and the potential for making robotics more accessible to smaller companies. Ultimately, the conversation emphasizes the ongoing evolution of robotics and the importance of safety innovations in this field.To learn more about 3Laws: https://3laws.io/ ###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
On the show this week, Gavin Kenneally, CEO and co-founder of Ghost Robotics, discusses the journey of the company from its inception to becoming a leader in legged robotics. He highlights the unique challenges and advantages of legged robots compared to wheeled counterparts, emphasizing their ability to navigate difficult terrains. The discussion also covers the importance of customer feedback in product development, the ruggedization of robots for military applications, and the future of robotics, including the potential for two-armed robots. Gavin shares insights on the impact of global events on robotics innovation and the company's commitment to keeping people out of harm's way.Learn more about Ghost Robotics: https://www.ghostrobotics.io###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre recap their recent trip to attend the Manifest tradeshow in Las Vegas.The show features vignettes from the show floor with executives from many of the industries most innovative warehouse and supply chain robotics companies.Show timeline8:12 - Zoox autonomous taxi trip recap6:20 - News of the week14:33 - Manifest Recap with Gene Demaitre and Mike Oitzman34:08 - Interview with Sankalp Arora, CEO, Gather AI41:58 - Interview with Ben Gruettner, Chief Revenue Officer, Robust.AI49:28 - Interview with Owen Nicholson, CEO, Slamcore54:21 - Interview with Mason Cole, VP Sales, Slip Robotics1:00:55 - Interview with Steven McKinley (COO) and Jim Leifer (CEO) with Ambi Robotics1:10:00 - Interview with Jackie Wu, CEO, from Corvus Robotics1:16:40 - Interview with Kevin Damoa, founder and CEO Glid Technologies1:22:37 - Interview with Eric Miller, cofounder and CEO of Autopallet###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guests this week are Mario Mauerer, from Maxon and David Koelle, Charles River Analytics.In this interview from the Humanoid Summit in Silicon Valley, Mike Oitzman speaks with Maxon’s Mario Muerer about how humanoids and mobile manipulation are shaping the company’s actuator strategy, from scalable product design and simulation to safety, commercialization timelines, and the real-world practicality of hands and end effectors.Connect with Marco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-mauerer/ David Koelle, a principal software engineer at Charles River Analytics, discusses his work on applied AI research for government clients, NASA's ASTRA project, and his passion for music programming, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between AI and human decision-making.Connect with David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmkoelle/ Learn more about Charles River Analytics: https://cra.com/ ###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Our guest this week is Kevin Damoa, founder and CEO of Glīd Technologies. Damoa discusses Glīd, the world's first autonomous road-to-rail solution, which addresses the problem of ensuring accessibility to both road and rail corridors. Glīd autonomous vehicles pick up fully loaded semi-trailers from the port or road, and then transfer directly to rail. The conversation with Damoa highlights the commercial start of Glīd, driven by the need for quick revenue generation. He also mentions the challenge of securing capital for a robotics startup. Learn more about Glid: https://www.glidtech.us/###– SPONSOR –Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/
Co. KG, who dives into the company's evolution from a glass-blowing business to a leader in robotic safety. Thomas emphasizes the importance of adaptability and innovation, highlighting the company's commitment to safety as a core value. He discusses the challenges and opportunities in aligning safety with productivity, the role of international safety standards, and the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source. The conversation also touches on the integration of AI in safety systems and the cultural ethos at Pilz that encourages entrepreneurial thinking among employees.
Our guest on the show this week is Spencer Krause, CEO and co-founder of SKA Robotics. A longtime friend of the show, Krause shares insights into the development process for new robotics solutions, and a deep dive into ruggedized field robotics. From automating giant mining trucks to launching “software-defined” actuators, Spencer discusses the “mercenary” engineering mindset, including “war stories” from the field, and why hardware is the next frontier in the Post-AI era.Learn more:https://skarobotics.com/https://tensiondynamics.com/ ###Register for the 2026 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/
This week cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the robots of CES 2026, and review the news of the week. Guest appearances by Chris Matthieu, VP, Developer Ecosystem at RealSense and Ahti Heinla , co-founder, CEO, Starship to talk about their predictions for 2026.
Join host Steve Crowe and The Robot Report editorial team (Gene Demaitre, Mike Oitzman, and Brianna Wessling) for the annual end-of-year wrap-up. The team breaks down the most significant stories, trends, and market shifts that defined the robotics industry in 2025 and looks ahead to 2026.Key Topics Discussed: - Business Shake-ups: An analysis of iRobot entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ABB selling its mobile robot division to SoftBank. - The Year of the Humanoid: A look at the $3.5B+ invested in humanoid companies and the rise of physical AI. - Autonomous Systems: Updates on Waymo’s scaling challenges, Amazon’s 1M deployed robots, and the impact of autonomous systems in the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. - Industry Trends: The spin-out of Intel RealSense, the return of a national robotics strategy, and new approaches to home robotics (1X, Sunday, Weave).Featured Guest Vignettes: - John Santagate: On tote-to-man methodologies and multi-agent orchestration. - Chris Matthieu (RealSense): On open-source brains for physical AI and the emergence of robot sports. - Evan Helda (Nebius): On data pipelines, real-world data collection, and world models for training.
In this episode, Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, particularly his early entrepreneurial experiences with Cobalt Robotics and the lessons learned as a second-time founder. He discusses the challenges and opportunities in the robotics industry, emphasizing the importance of hardware and the potential of humanoid robots in various applications, including military and space exploration. LeBlanc also outlines his ambitious goals for deploying a fleet of 10,000 robots and the significance of effective team building and hiring practices in achieving success.To learn about Foundation goto: https://foundation.bot/Please like and share the episode to help us grow.
In this episode, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre interview Rebecca Hu-Thrams, CEO and co-founder of Glacier, about the challenges and innovations in recycling technology. Rebecca discusses the complexities of the recycling process, the role of automation in improving efficiency, and Glacier's mission to modernize recycling systems. She highlights the importance of partnerships with major companies like Amazon and Colgate Palmolive to enhance recycling outcomes and reduce carbon emissions. The conversation also covers Glacier's unique approach to building custom recycling robots and their impact on the circular economy.To learn more about Glacier Robotics goto: https://endwaste.io/ Mike Oitzman catches up with Parallax Worlds CEO Tanmay Agarwal to learn more about its recent funding round.Learn more at: https://www.parallaxworlds.com/
In this episode, Kristian Kassow, co-founder of Universal Robots and managing director of Kassow Robots, discusses the evolution of collaborative robots. He shares insights on the development of seven-axis cobots, the advantages of built-in torque sensors, and the integration of cobots with mobile robots. Kristian also highlights the role of partnerships in expanding Kassow Robots' global reach and the future of collaborative robotics in various industries.Learn more about Kassow Robotics: https://www.kassowrobots.com/ ###Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman also cover the news of the week. Including Sunday Robotics new Memo humanoid: https://www.sunday.ai/ ###Keep up to date on the latest robotics news at The Robot Report and Automated Warehouse:https://www.therobotreport.com/https://www.automatedwarehouseonline.com
In this episode, we sit down with Fareed Aljawhari, the CEO and founder of Micropolis Robotics, to explore the evolution of robotics in Dubai and the Middle East. Aljawhari shares his unique journey from a creative director to a leader in robotics, discussing the pivotal shift from digital twins to autonomous robots. The conversation explores Micropolis' modular approach, strategic partnerships, and the critical role of Dubai government support in driving technological advancement. Aljawhari also highlights the company's focus on IoT and edge computing as integral components of their automation strategy.To learn more about Micropolis Robotics goto: https://www.micropolis.ai/
In this episode, Mike Oitzman, Gene Demaitre, and Chris Finger discuss the role of Harmonic Drive in space robotics, exploring the challenges and innovations in designing robots for space applications. They examine the history of Harmonic Drive's involvement in space missions, the trends in space commercialization, and the technical considerations for gearing in space environments.***SPONSORED BY HARMONIC DRIVETo learn more about Harmonic Drive products or contact a sales representative in your area, go to www.harmonicdrive.net or call 978-532-1800
M, and Director of Robotics at Alliant Group, this episode digs into the challenges and opportunities in fostering a diverse and skilled workforce, and how robotics competitions serve as a gateway to STEM fields.Learn how STEM related programs from K-12 and then community colleges and universities are preparing the next generation of engineers, technicians and other professionals necessary to support the growing population of robots and autonomous systems.
This week on the show, we welcome Brian Chereson, an industrial engineer from ODW Logistics, and Cody Upp, head of commercial for Zebra Robotics Automation. Together, they dive into the transformative role of robotics and automation in logistics. The conversation explores the deployment of Zebra's Symmetry Fulfillment Person to Goods AMR system at ODW Logistics, highlighting the strategic benefits of flexible, cost-effective solutions. Key topics include reducing labor costs, improving order accuracy, and enhancing employee engagement through innovative technologies.###– SPONSOR –Are manual picking operations or idle robots slowing your growth? The cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you an unbeatable competitive edge. Autonomous mobile robots guided by Team Intelligence empower your workers to achieve their maximum potential, enabling you to scale efficiently and boost profitability. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra. Discover the future of fulfillment at https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
SummaryThis week, Mike Oitzman recaps the FIRA 2025 Ag Robotics event in Woodland, CA, highlighting the latest innovations in new automation solutions for agriculture. Featured guest this week is Danny Bernstein, founder of The Reservoir, an agtech incubator located in Salinas, CA. Danny takes us through the creation of The Reservoir and the vision for the organization to support new Ag automation startups. Also on the show is a brief conversation with Dave Silver, Director of Orchard Autonomy at John Deere, who updates us on the latest orchard solutions from JD.Companies mentioned in the recap:|- Bonzai Robotics- AgScout (vineyard yield management software)- TensorField (hot oil weeding solution)- Pittsburgh Robotics- John Deere- The Reservoir###– SPONSOR –Are manual picking operations or idle robots slowing your growth? The cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you an unbeatable competitive edge. Autonomous mobile robots guided by Team Intelligence empower your workers to achieve their maximum potential, enabling you to scale efficiently and boost profitability. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra. Discover the future of fulfillment at https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the 2025 RoboBusiness event which took place last week in Santa Clara CA. The show features interviews with ten startups who were present at the show and many of whom participated in the 2025 Pitchfire event.Here’s the list of interviews on the show (in order of appearance:Apporv Shaudri from Roworks AIChongdu Xu from Forge AI (4rfg.ai)David Ruth from MotogoDoug Langen From 4D1Katy Bradford from Rotate8Kevin Hayes from MorelleLakshay Sharma from Cerulion (2025 Pitchfire winner)Raghavender Sahdev from NuPortRoby Lynn from R2 LabsToshi Quides from Sensible Robotics###– SPONSOR –Are manual picking operations or idle robots slowing your growth? The cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you an unbeatable competitive edge. Autonomous mobile robots guided by Team Intelligence empower your workers to achieve their maximum potential, enabling you to scale efficiently and boost profitability. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra. Discover the future of fulfillment at https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
In this episode, we sit down with Ben Wolff, CEO of Palladyne AI, to discuss the company's innovative strides in the AI and robotics industry. We dive into their focus on simplifying robot programming through an enhanced user interface, the development of autonomous swarming technology for drones, and their commitment to creating hardware-agnostic AI solutions. Ben shares insights into the advantages of edge computing and emphasizes a customer-centric approach to product development, ensuring that their offerings are indispensable to users. Tune in to learn how Palladyne AI is shaping the future of robotics and AI.– SPONSOR –Are manual picking operations or idle robots slowing your growth? The cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you an unbeatable competitive edge. Autonomous mobile robots guided by Team Intelligence empower your workers to achieve their maximum potential, enabling you to scale efficiently and boost profitability. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra. Discover the future of fulfillment at https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
On the show this week: Adrian Stoch, CEO Hai Robotics, USAIn the conversation with Stoch, he discusses his transition from GXO Logistics to a leadership role at HAI Robotics, driven by the company's customer-centric approach and innovative culture led by founder Richie Chen. Adrian highlights the importance of aligning automation solutions with customer needs, emphasizing the shift towards large-scale automation in response to global supply chain challenges and labor constraints. He also outlines his goals for Hai Robotics in the Americas, focusing on building a talented team and implementing lean processes to support growth and customer success. ###– SPONSOR –Are manual picking operations or idle robots slowing your growth? The cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you an unbeatable competitive edge. Autonomous mobile robots guided by Team Intelligence empower your workers to achieve their maximum potential, enabling you to scale efficiently and boost profitability. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra. Discover the future of fulfillment at https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
In this episode, we reconnect with Peter Finn, Managing Director at BGL, to explore the evolving landscape of industrial technology, robotics, and AI. Peter shares insights on market trends post-COVID, the challenges and opportunities in the robotics sector, and the critical role of AI in shaping the future. We delve into the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions, the potential of humanoid robotics, and the importance of adaptability in today's fast-paced technological environment. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on navigating the future of industrial innovation.
D for Robotics at Ascensus, discusses the strategic direction and priorities of his team, focusing on the development of the Luna platform. Vaughan highlights the importance of performance-guided surgery and the integration of augmented intelligence to enhance clinical support systems. Vaughan also addresses the challenges of navigating regulatory landscapes and cybersecurity concerns while emphasizing the potential of robotics and automation in the medical field. He expresses optimism about the future of surgical robotics, particularly in pediatric care, and the role of AI in improving surgical outcomes. The conversation underscores the commitment to delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions that enhance patient care and operational efficiency in the operating room.Also featured during the news section is Anders Beck, VP of Technology, Universal Robots, with a manufacturer's perspective on the new collaborative robotics standards changes.
On the show today, Scott Kuindersma, VP of Robotics Research at Boston Dynamics, discusses the development and testing of large behavior models (LBMs) for Atlas, a humanoid robot. The Boston Dynamics team collected 20 hours of teleoperation data to train LBMs, which generalize manipulation tasks. They demonstrated this with Atlas performing bi-manual manipulation tasks, such as picking and placing Spot parts. The process involves data collection, annotation, model training, and evaluation. Kuindersma highlighted the importance of simulation data and human demonstration data. Future plans include testing Atlas in Hyundai facilities and exploring AI-centric results to enhance humanoid manipulation and dynamic behaviors.Boston Dynamics is planning to take Atlas to some Hyundai facilities this year.
Our guest this week is Nohtal Partansky, CEO and founder of Sorting Robotics. Partansky shares his journey from working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to pioneering automation in the cannabis industry. Partansky discusses his innovative work on the Moxie project, which produces oxygen on Mars, and how this experience influenced his approach to robotics for cannabis manufacturing. He highlights the unique challenges and opportunities in the cannabis market, emphasizing the importance of automation to compete with both legal and black market operations. Partansky also delves into the complexities of designing adaptable systems to meet varying state regulations and evolving consumer demands, positioning Sorting Robotics as a leader in this burgeoning industry.The company’s products include:Stardust - a machine that can coat 1,000 joints an hour with infused THCJiko - a machine that injects joint with concentrateOmnifiller - a machine that fills vape cartridges
Tech AgencyThese gentlemen discuss the unique opportunities Singapore offers for robotics companies, including its strong manufacturing base, supportive ecosystem, and commitment to talent development. They also share insights on the lessons learned from implementing robotics and AI, emphasizing the importance of integration, reliability, and scalability in deploying these technologies effectively.###– SPONSOR –Ever wondered why global giants like Rockwell, Micron, and HP chose Singapore for their cutting-edge manufacturing facilities? It's no coincidence that the city-state is the world's fifth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. From world-class talent to seamless supply chains and groundbreaking innovation, Singapore's advanced manufacturing ecosystem is powering the future of Industry 4.0.Ready to discover what makes Singapore the choice destination
On the show this week, we catch up with Bren Pierce, CEO and founder of Kinisi robotics. Bren is a veteran of the mobile robotics market, having delivered 25,000 robots at his previous startup: Bear Robotics.In this episode, we delve into the world of humanoid robotics, uncovering invaluable lessons from Bren’s past ventures. Join us as we explore the challenges faced by a pioneers in the mobile robotics field, and discover how these experiences are shaping the future of robotics.###– SPONSOR –Ever wondered why global giants like Rockwell, Micron, and HP chose Singapore for their cutting-edge manufacturing facilities? It's no coincidence that the city-state is the world's fifth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. From world-class talent to seamless supply chains and groundbreaking innovation, Singapore's advanced manufacturing ecosystem is powering the future of Industry 4.0.Ready to discover what makes Singapore the choice destination for manufacturing leaders and solution providers? Head to http://go.gov.sg/therobotreport to learn more.
On the show this week, we highlight a session from Robotics Summit 2025 titled “Beyond Manufacturing: AI-Powered Robotics and the Long Tail of Commercial Innovation,” featuring Dave Coleman, Chief Product Officer and Founder from Picknik Robotics.Co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre discuss news of the week, including the recent World Humanoid Olympics in China, market data from IFR and A3, and Apple’s recent announcement of its $100B American Manufacturing program. Mike and Gene offer their analysis of the latest news.###– SPONSOR –Ever wondered why global giants like Rockwell, Micron, and HP chose Singapore for their cutting-edge manufacturing facilities? It's no coincidence that the city-state is the world's fifth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. From world-class talent to seamless supply chains and groundbreaking innovation, Singapore's advanced manufacturing ecosystem is powering the future of Industry 4.0.Ready to discover what makes Singapore the choice destination for manufacturing leaders and solution providers? Head to http://go.gov.sg/therobotreport to learn more.
In this episode we replay a session from Robotics Summit 2025 on “The State of Humanoids“: The panelists include: Pras Velagapudi - CTO, Agility RoboticsAaron Prather - Director of Robotics, ASTM InternationalAl Makke, Director of Engineering - SchaefflerHosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss various topics in the robotics industry, including leadership changes at Agility Robotics and Boston Dynamics and the recent financial struggles faced by iRobot.The conversation highlights the dynamic nature of the robotics field, the evolving safety standards for humanoid robots and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.###– SPONSOR –Ever wondered why global giants like Rockwell, Micron, and HP chose Singapore for their cutting-edge manufacturing facilities? It's no coincidence that the city-state is the world's fifth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. From world-class talent to seamless supply chains and groundbreaking innovation, Singapore's advanced manufacturing ecosystem is powering the future of Industry 4.0.Ready to discover what makes Singapore the choice destination for manufacturing leaders and solution providers? Head to http://go.gov.sg/therobotreport to learn more.
Autonomous Systems Program at ASTM International, and later in the show, Rajat Bhageria, CEO and founder of Chef Robotics, in a conversation with Gene Demaitre at The Robotics Summit.Join us on a fascinating journey through time as we explore the evolution and significance of iconic robots in the history of the robotics industry. We recap Prather’s recent publication of a “Top 10 robots” list, and debate the order and composition of the list.From the early mechanical wonders to today's advanced AI-driven machines, discover how these creations have shaped our world and continue to influence our future. We'll delve into some of the stories behind famous robots, their impact on technology and culture, and what they reveal about human ingenuity and imagination. Tune in for an episode filled with insights, surprises, and a glimpse into the future of robotics.###– SPONSOR –Ever wondered why global giants like Rockwell, Micron and HP chose Singapore for their cutting-edge manufacturing facilities? It's no coincidence that the city-state is the world's fifth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. From world-class talent to seamless supply chains and groundbreaking innovation, Singapore's advanced manufacturing ecosystem is powering the future of Industry 4.0.Ready to discover what makes Singapore the choice destination for manufacturing leaders and solution providers? Head to http://go.gov.sg/therobotreport to learn more.
Automation has been a leader in motion control solutions since 2042, partnering with top robotics platforms across various industries. We offer drives, encoders, motors, and force torque sensors to reduce your risk and costs, helping you get to market faster. Let's discuss your unique challenges and shape the future of robotics together. Visit https://www.celeramotion.com/
Automation has been a leader in motion control solutions since 2042, partnering with top robotics platforms across various industries. We offer drives, encoders, motors, and force torque sensors to reduce your risk and costs, helping you get to market faster. Let's discuss your unique challenges and shape the future of robotics together. Visit https://www.celeramotion.com/
Automation has been a leader in motion control solutions since 2032, partnering with top robotics platforms across various industries. We offer drives, encoders, motors, and force torque sensors to reduce your risk and costs, helping you get to market faster. Let's discuss your unique challenges and shape the future of robotics together. Visit https://www.celeramotion.com/
Automation has been a leader in motion control solutions since 2022, partnering with top robotics platforms across various industries. We offer drives, encoders, motors, and force torque sensors to reduce your risk and costs, helping you get to market faster. Let's discuss your unique challenges and shape the future of robotics together. Visit https://www.celeramotion.com/
Our guests on this episode are Laura Major, CEO of Motional, and Sankaet Pathek, founder and CEO of Foundation.Cohost Mike Oitzman interviews Laura Major, CEO of Motional, about its advancements in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. Major discusses Motional's focus on AI and machine learning, emphasizing the shift from technical to business leadership. They have conducted pilot activities in Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, focusing on diverse environments to enhance their AV's generalizability. Major highlights the importance of simulation in development, combining it with real-world testing. Motional's AVs are electric, leveraging the Ionic 5 platform for efficiency. They have a strong safety record, with no at-fault accidents over 2 million miles. Regulatory frameworks vary by state, but they collaborate with local and state officials to improve deployment.Learn more about Motion: https://motional.com/In a conversation with Sankaet Pathek, the founder and CEO of Foundation, discusses the mission and vision behind his humanoid robot company. He shares insights into his background, the challenges and opportunities in the robotics industry, and the innovative technologies being developed at Foundation. The conversation highlights the importance of building a capable team, the focus on practical applications of humanoid robots, and the unique technological advancements that differentiate Foundation from competitors. In this conversation, Sankaet discusses the current state and future of humanoid robotics, focusing on automation in manufacturing, the integration of AI, safety considerations, and the challenges of scaling production. He emphasizes the importance of data in training AI models and the need for reliable hardware and software to ensure safety. Sankaet also shares insights on navigating the venture capital landscape and achieving cost efficiency in humanoid robots, while reflecting on the challenges of startup life.Learn more about Foundation: https://foundation.bot/Please like, subscribe, and share the show with a colleague.
Welcome to our 200th episode! Our guest in this episode is Dr Robert Ambrose, Texas A&M professor and Chairman of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Alliant. In this conversation, Dr. Rob Ambrose discusses his extensive experience in robotics and artificial intelligence, particularly during his time at NASA. He highlights the evolution of robotics in space exploration, the transition to commercial applications, and the importance of education in fostering the next generation of engineers. Dr. Ambrose emphasizes the need for the U.S. to regain its leadership in robotics amidst growing competition from countries like China, and he advocates for a proactive approach to innovation and automation in various industries.We take a walk down memory lane and recap some of our favorite moments on the show from the last five years. Steve Crowe, Gene Demaitre, and Mike Oitzman talk through some stats from the show over 200 episodes.We also want to thank our special guests on this episode who stopped by for a quick message, including Jonathan Hurst, Aaron Prather, Kevin Lawton, Victor Splittgerber, and Joe Wieciek.And thanks to all of our fans of the show. We love meeting you at shows. Please like, follow/subscribe, and leave a review.The best way to help us grow is to share the show with a colleague.
Our guest in this episode is Cam Myers, founder and CEO of CreateMe. He discusses the innovative application of robotics and adhesive technology in garment production. He shares insights on the challenges faced in automating clothing manufacturing, the benefits of using adhesives over traditional sewing methods, and the potential for reshoring production in response to changing tariffs. The discussion also touches on the future trajectory of CreateMe, emphasizing sustainability and the importance of adapting to consumer demands.Learn more about CreateMe at: https://www.createme.com/
In this conversation, Robert Kufner, CEO and President of SDP/SI, discusses the evolution of the company in response to the changing demands of the tech industry, particularly in automation and robotics. He highlights the importance of customer feedback and investment in advanced manufacturing technologies. The discussion also covers the impact of the changing tariff landscape on SDP/SI and its customers, emphasizing the company's strong position as a US manufacturer. Finally, Kufner addresses sourcing challenges and the future of materials needed for manufacturing.Let’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.S-D-P S-s engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how S-D-P S-I can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com
Our guest in this episode is Nicolas Radford, CEO and co-founder of Persona AI. Persona is commercializing a multi-purpose humanoid to personify AI, enabling the next wave in robotics. No longer are robots confined to the factory floor performing pick and place, welding, or painting, but they are now capable of tasks traditionally reserved only for human-level coordination and mobility.We hear about his new venture with Persona, and teaming up with Jerry Pratt, another well-known roboticist in the humanoid space.Learn more about Persona at: http://persona.ai/###Our sponsor this week is SDPSI.Let’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.At SDP/SI, our engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how SDP/SI can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com/ to learn more.
Our guest in this episode is Geoffrey Biggs, CTO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation. He updates us on the recent ROS 2 Kilted Kaiju release, the pending ROS 1 sunset and the future of OSRF.Co-host Steve Crowe returns from Georgia with an update on the 2025 ICRA event. He discusses the event and all of the various robot demos at the event. ICRA is primarily a research-focused robotics event, and it offers attendees the opportunity to see the latest research projects from labs around the world.###Our sponsor this week is SDPSI.Let’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.At SDP/SI, our engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how SDP/SI can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com/ to learn more.
This week, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre recap the 2025 Automate show in Detroit, MI. In additional to their personal experiences and take-aways from the event, we also feature show floor interviews with:- Ujjwal Kumar, Group President Teradyne Robotics- Marc Segura, President of ABB Robotics- Carole Franklin, Director of Standards Development, Robotics, at Association for Advancing Automation on the new ISO/AWI 25785-1 humanoid safety standard- Mathias Entenmann, cofounder and CEO of CeiliX###Our sponsor this week is SDPSI.Let’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.At SDP/SI, our engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how SDP/SI can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com/ to learn more.
Our guest in this episode is Giovanni Campanella, the Industrial Automation and Robotics General Manager at Texas Instruments (TI).In this conversation, co-host Mike Oitzman speaks with Campanella about TI's extensive portfolio in industrial automation and robotics, highlighting key product lines and the company's collaboration with various robotics companies. Giovanni shares insights into the challenges of designing humanoid robots, the evolving demands in robotics, and the importance of safety in design. They also explore the expansion of robotics into new sectors such as healthcare and agriculture, and how TI engages with engineers to provide tailored solutions. The conversation concludes with a look at future trends in robotics and the skills needed for systems engineers in this rapidly changing field.###Our sponsor this week is SDPSI.Let’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.At SDP/SI, our engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how SDP/SI can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com/ to learn more.
This episode comes to you live from the expo floor of the 2025 Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston.Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the event and Mike talks to several friends of the show from the show floor.We catch up with Aaaron Prather, from ASTM. Then Mike talked to Amos Miller from Glidance before his session on personal robotics. Finally, we learn about the upcoming production release from Tatum Robotics founder Samantha Johnson.###Our sponsor this month is SDP-SILet’s dive into the critical role of precision, quality, and alignment in robotics design and assembly.At SDP/SI, our engineering experts go beyond the standard manufacturing process by reviewing your designs before production, offering cost-effective, space-saving solutions that streamline your entire assembly process.Discover how we help robotics companies achieve unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how SDP/SI can elevate your robotics applications. Discover the difference!Visit https://sdp-si.com/podcast/index.php
Our guest this week is Angus Pacala, CEO and Co-founder of Ouster Lidar.In this conversation, Pacala, discusses the advancements in lidar technology, particularly the introduction of their new 3D zone monitoring feature. He explains the benefits of 3D lidar over traditional 2D systems, emphasizing safety and flexibility in industrial applications. The discussion also covers the evolution of Ouster's hardware, the importance of software-defined capabilities, and the future growth potential in various markets, including humanoid robotics. Pacala highlights the challenges of cost reduction and the need for innovation to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving landscape of lidar technology.###Our sponsor this week is Enidine.Established in 1966, Enidine is a premier supplier of highly engineered products to extend equipment life, improve comfort, and increase safety and reliability throughout global industrial end markets.Enidine’s engineering team has designed custom energy absorption, vibration isolation, and noise attenuation solutions for a wide variety of challenging applications, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and factory automation. Its wide array of innovative components has proven to be critical to our customers’ success.Learn more by going to https://www.enidine.com/en-us
Featured interview this week: Rob Marshick, Enidine National Sales ManagerThe team also covers the news from the week, including the ABB Robotics spinout announcement; the Hugging Face/Pollen Robotics acquisition; and various autonomous trucking and mobile robotics product announcements.###Our sponsor this week is Enidine.Established in 1966, Enidine is a premier supplier of highly engineered products to extend equipment life, improve comfort, and increase safety and reliability throughout global industrial end markets.Enidine’s engineering team has designed custom energy absorption, vibration isolation, and noise attenuation solutions for a wide variety of challenging applications, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and factory automation. Its wide array of innovative components has proven to be critical to our customers’ success.Learn more by going to https://www.enidine.com/en-us
Our guests this week are Nick Thompson, CEO and co-founder of BOW, and Daniel Camilleri, CTO and founder of BOW. BOW is a robotics platform that aims to simplify the development of robotic applications. They discuss the challenges in the robotics industry, the features of the BOW SDK, and the company's business model. The conversation also touches on partnerships, the integration with ROS, and the future of robotics, particularly in relation to AI and task-oriented development.Our sponsor this week is Enidine.Established in 1966, Enidine is a premier supplier of highly engineered products to extend equipment life, improve comfort, and increase safety and reliability throughout global industrial end markets.Enidine’s engineering team has designed custom energy absorption, vibration isolation, and noise attenuation solutions for a wide variety of challenging applications, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and factory automation. Its wide array of innovative components has proven to be critical to our customers’ success.Learn more by going to https://www.enidine.com/en-us
On the show this week, the entire editorial staff of The Robot Report discusses the 2025 winners of the RBR50 innovation awards.The editors talk about some of the standout solutions in this cohort of RBR50 winners, including Robot of the year: Waymo; Application of the year: TEPCO; Startup of the year: Mytra; Robots for good: Hello Robot.See the complete list on The Robot Report website: https://www.therobotreport.com/rbr50-2025/###This episode is sponsored by Enidine.Established in 1966, Enidine is a premier supplier of highly engineered products to extend equipment life, improve comfort, and increase safety and reliability throughout global industrial end markets.Enidine’s engineering team has designed custom energy absorption, vibration isolation, and noise attenuation solutions for a wide variety of challenging applications, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and factory automation. Its wide array of innovative components has proven to be critical to our customers’ success.Learn more by going to https://www.enidine.com/en-us
Our guest this week is Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, who discusses the company's impressive growth, including a 700% revenue increase, and plans to scale their fleet of delivery robots significantly. He shares insights on partnerships, particularly with Magna for manufacturing and Uber for delivery services, and the challenges of expanding into new markets like Miami. The discussion also covers the role of AI in enhancing robot capabilities, the importance of adapting workflows for restaurant partners, and the future of last-mile delivery. Ali reflects on the journey from startup to public company and the endless possibilities for robotics in various sectors.Visit https://www.serverobotics.com/ to learn more.Co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the news of the week.###Our sponsor this week is Wandelbots.Simplify automation without limits. Wandelbots NOVA is the agnostic robotics platform that lets you program any 6-axis robot - whether coding from scratch or generating paths with real-world data. Test in simulation, deploy seamlessly, and optimize workflows across brands - without vendor lock-in. Smarter automation starts here. Visit https://www.wandelbots.com/ to learn more.
On the show this week the co-hosts recap what they saw and learned about at the Promat and NVIDIA GTC 2025 trade shows. You'll hear the latest news and product announcements from the robot companies in attendance.
Our guest this week is Fabio Gehrlicher, Director of Market Expansion at Wandelbots. In the interview, they discuss the company's journey, focusing on its flagship product, Wandelbots NOVA, an agnostic operating system for robots. Fabio explains how NOVA simplifies robot programming, the integration of AI for path planning, and the benefits of simulation-based programming. The conversation also covers the target audience for NOVA, the architecture of the system, and the challenges of transitioning from simulation to real-world applications. Fabio shares insights on the ROI of using NOVA and the learning curve for new users, as well as Wandelbots' expansion into the US market and their upcoming showcase at ProMat 2023.Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman catch up on the news of the week, including financial stress at iRobot, and news that Google DeepMind is introducing two Gemini-based models to bring AI to the real world.Gemini Robotics, is an advanced vision-language-action (VLA) model that was built on Gemini 2.0. It added physical actions as a new output modality for the purpose of directly controlling robots.###Our sponsor this week is Wandelbots.Simplify automation without limits. Wandelbots NOVA is the agnostic robotics platform that lets you program any 6-axis robot - whether coding from scratch or generating paths with real-world data. Test in simulation, deploy seamlessly, and optimize workflows across brands - without vendor lock-in. Smarter automation starts here. Visit https://www.wandelbots.com/ to learn more.
Our guest this week is Mark Messina, the new Managing Director and CEO of ANSCER Robotics America. Mark discusses his journey in the robotics industry, the vision and technology behind ANSCER Robotics, and the strategies for market differentiation. He emphasizes the importance of building valuable products, the challenges of a saturated market, and his personal goals in leading the company. The discussion also touches on operational strategies, including the importance of having a frugal approach and the potential for future growth in the robotics sector. In this conversation, Mark Messina discusses the evolution of work culture towards remote settings, the challenges of building a company in the competitive robotics market, and the importance of understanding cultural differences in international business. He shares insights on finding a balance between work and personal life, navigating trade challenges, and the early successes of his company in the US market.To learn more goto: https://www.anscer.com/Our sponsor this week is Wandelbots.Simplify automation without limits. Wandelbots NOVA is the agnostic robotics platform that lets you program any 6-axis robot - whether coding from scratch or generating paths with real-world data. Test in simulation, deploy seamlessly, and optimize workflows across brands - without vendor lock-in. Smarter automation starts here. Visit https://www.wandelbots.com/ to learn more.
Our guest this week is Dr Kevin Dowling, Managing Director of the Robotics Factory, discusses the role of the factory in fostering robotics startups in Pittsburgh. He outlines the factory's three main programs: Create, Accelerate, and Scale, which aim to support early-stage companies in various aspects of business development. The discussion also highlights the unique characteristics of Pittsburgh's robotics ecosystem, the importance of collaboration with institutions like Carnegie Mellon, and the challenges startups face in securing investment. Dowling emphasizes the significance of passion and drive in entrepreneurs, as well as the need for a solid IP strategy. The conversation concludes with an optimistic outlook for the future of robotics in the region.Learn more at: https://www.roboticsfactory.org/ Stay up to date with all the robotics news:https://www.therobotreport.com/https://www.automatedwarehouseonline.com/https://www.cobottrends.com/
Our guest this week is Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik. We invited Cardenas onto the show to give us some insight into the $350 million in Series A funding round announced earlier this week for Apptronik.Apptronik is an Austin TX based humanoid robot manufacturer, and this round of funding is the second largest for a U.S. based humanoid robot startup, after the $650M funding round for Figure a year ago.Also on the show, we talk with Gene Demaitre, editorial director for The Robot Report, to catch up on what he saw and learned during his trip to the Manifest tradeshow this week.Finally, we catch on other big news of the week, including Fanuc's recent Q3 fiscal numbers and a new lineup of laser weeders from Carbon Robotics.
Our guest this week is Chris Painter, the Director of Technical Product Management at CNH Industrial.In this conversation, co-host Mike Oitzman and Chris talk about the advancements in precision agriculture, the critical role of connectivity, and the challenges faced by farmers in rural areas. They discuss the importance of real-time data for operational efficiency, the future of autonomy in farming, and the impact of AI on agricultural technology. Chris emphasizes the need for continuous connectivity to support autonomous vehicles and the ongoing challenges of labor in the agricultural sector.On the show we also catch up on the latest robotics news of the week including layoffs at Teradyne and Cruise, as well as the latest high reach mobile manipulator from Brightpick called "Giraffe".To learn more about CNH Industrial goto: https://www.cnh.com/
Our guest this week is Erin Linebarger, CEO and co-founder of Robotics88.In this conversation, Erin Linebarger discusses the innovative use of drones in wildfire management, particularly through prescribed fire techniques. The discussion covers the genesis of the company, the importance of data in fire management, the technology behind their drones, and the future of wildfire mitigation efforts globally.To learn more, goto: https://www.robotics88.com
Our guest this week is John Santagate, Senior Vice President, Robotics, Körber Supply Chain Software. John gives a look back at 2024 for the warehouse industry, as well as a look forward to what we might expect to come in the year ahead.The cohosts also recap the robotics news from CES 2025, and the A3 business event from earlier this month.We also cover the top news stories from the robotics industry, including the news of Intel spinning out RealSense as standalone company, and Symbotic acquiring the robotics division of Walmart.
This week we talk to Chris Savoia, Head of Ecosystem Success, Americas UR KeywordsUniversal Robots, collaborative robots, automation, mobile manipulators, Polyscope X, robotics trends, safety standards, AI in robotics, UR+, Re-Automated podcast, robotics, automation, MotionPlus, cybersecurity, UR Plus, AI, manufacturing, Universal Robots, Polyscope X, future of roboticsSummaryIn this conversation, Chris Savoia, head of ecosystem success at Universal Robots, discusses the evolution of collaborative robots, the importance of education and reskilling in automation, and the recent advancements in higher payload robots and mobile manipulators. He also shares insights from his podcast, Re-Automated, and highlights the significance of the new Polyscope X platform for developers. In this conversation, Chris Savoia discusses the advancements in robotics, focusing on the value proposition of connecting robots, the enhancements brought by MotionPlus, and the importance of cybersecurity in connected systems. He elaborates on the OptiMove feature that optimizes robot control, the evolution of UR Plus with new partnerships and solutions. Savoia also shares insights on the future of robotics, emphasizing the potential growth in the industry and the impact of AI.TakeawaysUniversal Robots is focused on unlocking robotics for the masses.Education and reskilling are crucial for the future of automation.Collaborative robots are designed to be user-friendly and accessible.Higher payload robots expand the capabilities of collaborative automation.Mobile manipulators combine the strengths of mobile robots and robotic arms.Safety standards are evolving to accommodate new robotic technologies.Polyscope X enhances the development experience for both developers and end users.The integration of AI and vision technology is key for mobile manipulators.Risk assessments are essential for safe robot deployment.Humanoid robots face unique challenges in safety and functionality. Connecting robots requires a clear value proposition.Cybersecurity is a critical consideration for connected robots.OptiMove simplifies robot speed and acceleration settings.UR Plus has evolved to include over 500 products and solutions.Denmark is a hub for robotics innovation and engineering.The robotics industry is expected to see growth in the coming year.AI will play a crucial role in the future of robotics.
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman cover the leading robotics news stories from the week.In the featured interview this week, Mike Oitzman interviews Anders Fogelberg, co-founder and CEO of FlexQube, a Swedish company specializing in modular material handling solutions and automation. They discuss FlexQube's innovative approach to manufacturing, the transition from manual carts to automated systems, and the company's vision for the future of robotics in material handling. Fogelberg emphasizes the importance of modularity, customer experience, and the evolving landscape of the AMR market.TakeawaysFlexQube is a Swedish company with a focus on modular material handling solutions.The company has manufacturing hubs in North America and Mexico.FlexQube's products are designed to be customizable and adaptable to various manufacturing needs.The shift towards automation in material handling is driven by the need for efficiency and safety.FlexQube's Navigator AMR is a unique solution that integrates with existing carts.The company aims to provide a seamless experience for customers transitioning to automation.FlexQube's vision is to be the 'Netflix of AMRs', focusing on application and customer experience.The modular design allows for quick assembly and customization of material handling solutions.FlexQube is exploring partnerships to enhance its offerings in the AMR market.The future of material handling will involve a hybrid model combining traditional methods with advanced robotics.– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by FlexQube. Move material with any size, shape, and weight with the FlexQube Navigator AMR, the world’s first multi-purpose and non-load-carrying robot. The FlexQube Navigator AMR features a standardized coupling interface to connect with an ecosystem of different load carriers depending on the customer's needs. The system also features a safety-rated identification of load carrier footprint to secure a safe and efficient scale-up of different use cases in a factory or warehouse.FlexQube Navigator – robotics that delivers!To learn more about FlexQube’s solutions goto: www.flexqube.com
We’ve got the entire editorial team on this episode as we look back at some of the biggest robotics stories of the year, including the highlights and low lights from the year.Listen to Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman, Gene Demaitre, and Brianna Wessling as they recap the coverage of the news in 2024.We also hear some perspectives from some friends of the show and industry leaders, including Jeff Burnstein from A3, John Santagate from Körber Supply Chain, and Chris Walti from Mytra Systems.– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by FlexQube. Move material with any size, shape, and weight with the FlexQube Navigator AMR, the world’s first multi-purpose and non-load-carrying robot. The FlexQube Navigator AMR features a standardized coupling interface to connect with an ecosystem of different load carriers depending on the customer's needs. The system also features a safety-rated identification of load carrier footprint to secure a safe and efficient scale-up of different use cases in a factory or warehouse.FlexQube Navigator – robotics that delivers!To learn more about FlexQube’s solutions goto: www.flexqube.com
In this episode, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman cover the leading robotics news stories from the week.In the featured interview this week, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre interview Ben Wolff, co-founder and CEO of Palladyne AI. Ben discusses the company's evolution from hardware-focused robotics to a software-centric approach. He shares insights on the challenges faced during this transition, the impact of SPAC acquisitions, and how Palladyne AI differentiates itself in the competitive landscape of AI for robotics. Ben also highlights the importance of government contracts and the company's hardware-agnostic strategy, while looking ahead to future opportunities in automation and AI applications.Ben recognized the immediate market potential for the software and AI algorithms developed by the company, and as a result led the pivot from hardware development to a software-centric approach, formulating the new organization. This strategic shift, involving the layoff of hardware teams, significantly reducing their burn rate. Palladyne AI has developed software capable of teaching robots complex tasks in under 20 minutes. This agnostic software operates seamlessly on various third-party robots, accelerating iteration and development cycles. The company boasts contracts with the Pentagon, securing non-dilutive funding while navigating the inherent compliance challenges. This robust AI platform, built upon years of valuable hardware experience, positions Palladyne AI for future growth and scaling their software solutions across diverse industries.To learn more, goto: https://www.palladyneai.com/ – SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by FlexQube. Move material with any size, shape, and weight with the FlexQube Navigator AMR, the world’s first multi-purpose and non-load-carrying robot. The FlexQube Navigator AMR features a standardized coupling interface to connect with an ecosystem of different load carriers depending on the customer's needs. The system also features a safety-rated identification of load carrier footprint to secure a safe and efficient scale-up of different use cases in a factory or warehouse.FlexQube Navigator – robotics that delivers!To learn more about FlexQube’s solutions goto: www.flexqube.com
It’s VC week at the podcast.TLDR: This episode features interviews with Juliette Chevallier from Scale Ventures and Jasmine Singh from Jay Moon Ventures and covers investment trends in robotics, emphasizing the importance of execution risk over technical risk. Juliette Chevallier, Principal, Investments, Scale Venture PartnersJuliette Chevallier has a background in autonomous vehicles and robotics, having previously worked at companies like Google Chauffeur (now Waymo) and MIT spinoff Optimus Ride. She joined Scale Venture Partners about 2 years ago to lead their investment thesis on robotics, AI applications, and cybersecurity. Scale Venture Partners' approach focuses on investing at the point of execution risk rather than technical risk, looking for companies with a working product and proven product-market fit. Juliette emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer ROI and business model as key criteria.In her role as a VC, Juliette prefers to have a deep, hands-on involvement with portfolio companies, acting as a strategic sounding board and collaborating closely with founders to work through tough problems. She sees her role as helping founders navigate the operational and go-to-market challenges. Juliette notes a renewed interest in robotics from VCs, though she is cautious about some "wild" valuations and funding rounds, preferring bottoms-up market analysis over top-down figures.Juliette is bullish on the potential of robotics foundation models (RFMs) to drive transformation, emphasizing the need for more multi-modal AI models that integrate vision, action, and communication. She is excited about the possibilities of AI to enhance robotics, but cautions about the risks of AI development burning through funding. Overall, Juliette's approach focuses on de-risking execution and operational challenges for robotics startups, leveraging her deep technical and business expertise to support founders.Learn more at: https://www.scalevp.com/Jasmeet Singh, founder, JMOON VenturesJasmeet Singh has a diverse background spanning robotics engineering, founding startups, and investing since 2012. As an investor at J Moon Ventures, he focuses on "physical AI" startups - those combining hardware, electronics, and AI in areas like robotics, IoT, and 3D printing.Jasmeet emphasizes the importance of solving real problems, not just building cool technology. He looks for startups with a strong understanding of the user and business model, noting operational challenges like scaling manufacturing and finding the right business model.Compared to the more risk-averse Canadian market, Jasmeet sees the US as a better environment for robotics fundraising. He advises founders to target large, underserved problems and focus on customer service and support.Some of Jasmeet's investments include Orange Wood Labs, Brisk AI, and Rural Hologram. As he launches J Moon Ventures, he is particularly interested in opportunities in agriculture, construction, medical, and sustainability.Overall, Jasmeet brings a unique perspective as an investor with deep technical expertise and operational experience in robotics. He is focused on backing founders solving real-world problems with innovative hardware-software solutions.Learn more at: https://jmoon.ventures/– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by FlexQube. Move material with any size, shape, and weight with the FlexQube Navigator AMR, the world’s first multi-purpose and non-load carrying robot.The FlexQube Navigator AMR features a standardized coupling interface to connect with an ecosystem of different load carriers depending on the customer's needs.The system also features a safety-rated identification of load carrier footprint to secure a safe and efficient scale-up of different use cases in a factory or warehouse.FlexQube Navigator – robotics that delivers!To learn more about FlexQube’s solutions goto: https://www.flexqube.com
This week, cohost's Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman sit down with author and illustrator Peter Brown to discuss his children's books series: The Wild Robot.The first book in the series was recently released by Dreamworks as an animated movie and has seen tremendous box office success, topping $320 million worldwide and is on the top 100 list of high-grossing animated movies of all time.Peter takes us through his creative writing process, how he researched the book, and what it takes to write stories for children.He also shares the background research about robotics that he did for the book, and how he pulled the plot together for a robot that finds itself shipwrecked on an island filled with wild creatures. He describes why he chose the specific characteristics for the robot in the story.To learn more about Peter goto: https://www.peterbrownstudio.com/The movie, animated by Dreamworks, is playing at a theater near you, and available now on many streaming services.If you like the episode, please like and subscribe.Thanks for listening
In this conversation, Andrew Clare, CTO of Nuro, discusses the company's evolution in the autonomous vehicle space, focusing on their innovative Nuro Driver technology. He elaborates on the expansion of their business model to include partnerships with automotive OEMs and the potential market for AI driving solutions. Clare highlights the challenges of urban versus highway driving, the importance of safety culture, and the technology stack required for autonomous vehicles. The discussion also touches on the differences between Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy, as well as the future direction of Nuro in integrating hardware and software solutions.– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by RGo Robotics - RGo Robotics' Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, RGo’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler. To learn more about RGo’s solutions goto: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/?utm_source=therobotreport&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_id=nSubmissions for presentations and registration are now open for the 2025 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman cover the leading robotics news stories from the week.In the featured interview this week, Oitzman catches up with Amir Bousani, CEO of RGO Robotics, and Jacob Petersen, Chief Commercial Officer from Wheel.Me Robotics. We discuss the importance of perception for autonomous mobile robots, and discuss Wheel.Me's partnership and decision to leverage RGO Robotics perception engine in their platform.Learn more:https://www.rgorobotics.ai/https://www.wheel.me/en-us This week, Collaborative Robotics publicly unveiled its Proxie mobile manipulator. We also get an update on Proxie from Brad Porter, founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics.– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics - RGo Robotics' Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, RGo’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler. To learn more about RGO’s solutions goto: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/?utm_source=therobotreport&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_id=nSubmissions for presentations and registration are now open for the 2025 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/
Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman catch up on the latest robotics news of the week, including Mike recent visit to the Stanford Robotics Center.In the featured interview, Mike Oitzman speaks with Marc Segura, the President of ABB Robotics Division, about the latest developments in robotics, particularly focusing on AI integration, market trends, and the future of mobile and collaborative robotics. They discuss the impact of AI on robotics, the current state of the robotics market in the US compared to the rest of the world, and the potential of humanoid robots versus mobile manipulators. The conversation also touches on the evolution of collaborative robotics and its applications in various industries.– SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics - RGo Robotics' Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, RGo’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler. To learn more about RGO’s solutions goto: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/?utm_source=therobotreport&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_id=nSubmissions for presentations and registration are now open for the 2025 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/
In this episode, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman cover the leading robotics news stories from the week.From the news this week, check out the XPENG Iron humanoid robotics in this YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3wKyFE9HjM In the featured interview this week, Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre interview Marko Bjelonic, CEO and co-founder of Swiss-Mile, discussing the innovative quadruped robot that combines wheels and legs for enhanced mobility. They explore the evolution of the robot from academic research to a commercial product, the engineering challenges faced, and the unique functionalities that set it apart. The discussion also covers potential applications in security and logistics, the importance of autonomy in robotics, and the future direction of Swiss Mile as a technology-focused company.Link: https://www.swiss-mile.com/ – SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics - RGo Robotics' Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, RGo’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler. To learn more about RGO’s solutions goto: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/ Submissions for presentations and registration are now open for the 2025 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the latest video from Boston Dynamics showing Atlas electric humanoid in an autonomous material movement demo. The video shows the Atlas moving automotive parts from one storage bin to another bin. The hosts discuss the unique aspects of this video and how Atlas appears to move differently from the other competitive humanoid robots in recent demonstration videos.Submissions are now open for the 2025 RBR50 innovation awards. This awards programs celebrate robotics innovation in calendar year 2024, and open to any company worldwide who’s producing robotics or automation solutions. To learn more about the program and submit a nomination form, goto: https://www.therobotreport.com/2025-rbr50-robotics-innovation-awards-open-for-nominations/ In our feature interview this week, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre sit down with Gili Ovadia, VP of Business Development at BionicHive to learn more about their unique warehouse automation solution. The BionicHive Squid mobile robot can drive along the floor of the warehouse, and climb into the warehouse racking to put or get boxes/totes from storage locations on higher shelves. We learn how the system works and discuss where BionicHive is deploying these automate storage solutions.You can learn more about BionicHive at: https://bionichive.com/ – SPONSOR –The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics - RGo Robotics' Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, RGo’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler. To learn more about RGO’s solutions goto: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/
In this week's show, Dr. Russ Tedrake from Toyota Research Institute, and Scott Kuindersma from Boston Dynamics discuss their collaboration on humanoid robotics and the integration of AI through large behavior models. They explore the challenges and opportunities in developing general-purpose robots, the importance of human involvement in learning processes, and the role of data in enhancing robot capabilities. The discussion also touches on practical applications, deployment strategies, and the significance of rigorous research in advancing robotics technology.Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman also review Mike's takeaways from the FIRA 2024 ag-robotics event earlier this week.The show this week is sponsored by Zebra Robotics Automation - It’s time to switch to Zebra Robotics Automation. The company’s cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you that unbeatable competitive edge. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra Robotics Automation.To learn more about Zebra's solutions goto: www.zebra.com/fulfillment
On the show this week, co-hosts Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre review the significant highlights from RoboBusiness 2024 which took place this week in Santa Clara CA. The editors discuss the news from the week and highlights of the keynote sessions. The show this week is sponsored by Zebra Robotics Automation - It’s time to switch to Zebra Robotics Automation. The company’s cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you that unbeatable competitive edge. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra Robotics Automation.To learn more about Zebra's solutions goto: www.zebra.com/fulfillment
In this conversation, Dr. Henrik Christensen discusses the intersection of robotics and federal policy, emphasizing the need for more attention and funding for the robotics sector. He highlights the challenges of reshoring manufacturing, the implications of political campaigns on robotics, and the importance of tariffs and immigration reforms. The discussion also covers the impact of recent legislation like the Build Back Better Act and the CHIPS Act on the robotics industry, as well as the future of semiconductor manufacturing and international partnerships in robotics.Takeaways- Robotics needs more federal attention similar to AI.- Reshoring manufacturing is crucial for economic growth.- The Midwest's manufacturing sector is vital for the US economy.- Federal funding for robotics has decreased while AI funding has increased.- Small and medium-sized companies are essential for manufacturing exports.- Tariffs may negatively impact the robotics industry.- The US must rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.- International partnerships in robotics are necessary for innovation.- Investment in defense and energy production is likely to increase.- Immigration reform is needed to address labor shortages.The show this week is sponsored by Zebra Robotics Automation - It’s time to switch to Zebra Robotics Automation. The company’s cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you that unbeatable competitive edge. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra Robotics Automation.To learn more about Zebra's solutions goto: www.zebra.com/fulfillment
On the show this week, we feature a recent conversation with 1X Founder and CEO, Berndt Børnich, and learn all about the company's plan to begin testing of the NEO Beta humanoid in homes.In this conversation, Bernt discusses the launch of 1X's humanoid robot, NEO, and the mission to address labor shortages through robotics. He emphasizes the importance of designing robots for home environments to gather diverse data for AI training, ensuring safety and compliance, and navigating regulatory challenges. The discussion also touches on public perception of robots and the future of humanoid robotics in society.To learn more: https://www.1x.tech/The show this week is sponsored by Zebra Robotics Automation - It’s time to switch to Zebra Robotics Automation. The company’s cutting-edge Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment solution is engineered to reduce your costs per unit and give you that unbeatable competitive edge. Don’t settle for less—maximize your profits with Zebra Robotics Automation. To learn more about Zebra's solutions goto: https://www.zebra.com/fulfillment
It's drone week on the podcast, and we feature two interviews from the world of aerial robotics. Today, we talk with Hylio Drones CEO and Co-founder Arthur Erickson. He and his fellow University of Texas, Austin co-founders are focused on the ag-spraying industry and are the largest U.S.-based ag-spraying drone company. The company manufactures its drones entirely in the U.S., and has a healthy pipeline of clients.Learn more: https://www.hyl.io/The second featured interview is with Heven Drones CEO and co-founder Bentzion Levinson. Heven (pronounced "heaven") Drones are innovating in the drone market by using hydrogen fuel cells instead of lithium-ion batteries to achieve fight times of up to eight hours. Heven is deploying its drone platform into use cases such as infrastructure inspection, security, long-distance package delivery, and military applications.Learn more: https://hevendrones.com/
This week we connected with Bren Pierce, CEO and founder of a young startup that recently decloaked to bring a new wheeled humanoid robot platform to market. Pierce was a co-founder and chief robotics officer at Bear Robotics, and his latest venture is looking at the applications of a wheeled humanoid solution.Pierce is considering deploying this new robot into warehousing and service robotics applications. Imagine a robot that can serve food and bus the tables in a restaurant. Pierce fully understands how to build robotics for this market, and believes that a wheeled robot with two arms is the right solution.Learn more at:https://www.kinisi.tech/In this episode cohosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre also review the top robotics news stories of the week. Please like and subscribe to ensure that you don't miss an episode.
In this episode, we learn all about Yarbo robotics from cofounder Kenneth Kohlmann. Yarbo made its mark with the launch of its first robotic snow blower in 2018, and has now extended the product line with additional attachments including a mower deck and leaf blower. The company has plans to extend the utility of the robotic base with more attachments in the future. Learn more at: https://www.yarbo.com/us
Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the latest robotics news from the last week, including a review of the July funding report, which topped $1.3B. 1X also unveiled the NEO Beta humanoid model and prepares for pilot deployments into test home environments.The recent news of the Covariant AI acquisition or acqui-hire by Amazon is an interesting strategic move by the retailing giant. Both companies declined to comment on the details of the acquisition, so we asked ex-Amazon robotics leader and current CEO and founder of Collaborative Robotics, Brad Porter, to join us on the show to share his insights into the state of AI development and why this is an exciting move by Amazon.To learn more about Collaborative Robotics, goto: https://www.co.bot/
On the show today, we sit down with Michael Zampano, product engineer from mk North America, and learn all about flexible conveyance, a critical part of many robotic workcells.You'll learn about the Versaflex AP10, a flexible pallet conveyor solution. The Versaflex can be configured to fit the part-feeding requirements of any industrial robotic work cell. The solution is highly durable and can be reconfigured as the production evolves.To learn more about the Versaflex solution go to:https://www.mknorthamerica.com/Products/versaflex-pallet-conveyors/About Ask an Expert - this series features in-depth discussions with product experts about how those solutions are changing the landscape of automation and robotics.If you'd like to feature an expert from your company on a future episode of "Ask an Expert" - contact our executive producer: Courtney Nagle - cnagle@wtwhmedia.com
Catch up on the latest robotics news of the week, including Boston Dynamics Atlas doing pushups; Fanuc launches new R50i robot controller; Waymo starts airport pickup in Phoenix.The featured interview this week is with Paul Heitlinger, General Manager of Nokia AIMS (autonomous inventory management system). We learn about the new Nokia AIMS inventory counting solution, the technology behind it, and why Nokia is in the warehouse management space now.Links from the show:https://www.nokia.com/industries/manufacturing-and-logistics/aims/
This episode dives into the heart of the robotics industry with a special treat: the keynote fireside chat from the 2024 Robotics Summit. Join us as we listen in on Steve Crowe's insightful conversation with Ujjwal Kumar, Group President of Teradyne Robotics. They delve into the landscape of robotics, discussing Teredyne's collaborative robotics divisions UR and MiR, and sharing Ujjwal's unique perspective on the industry's future. Catch up on the latest news in the robotics industry this week, including an update on Serve Robotics newest merchant: Shake Shack, and a conversation with Serve Robotics President and COO, Touraj Parang about the expansion of service earlier in the week,
On the show today, we have a conversation with Chris Walti, CEO and co-founder of Mytra AI.Mytra decloaked and unveiled its pallet-based ASRS-like storage array for warehousing last month. The solution is unique for the payload size (3000 lbs) that the Mytrabots move through the storage array.The company is beginning to deploy pilot projects with early access customers and Chris discusses the ideal applications for the system.To learn more, check out the story on therobotreport.com or at mytra.ai
On the show today, we hear a replay of the State of Warehouse Automation Panel from the 2024 Robotics Summit, this was an esteemed panel moderated by Eugene Demaitre and featuring the voices of Tim Tetzlaff Vice President, Global Head of Accelerated Digitalization | DHL Supply Chain, John Santagate VP of Robotics | Körber Supply Chain, and Adrian Stoch Chief Automation Officer | GXO.The second feature on the show today is the last in our series of interviews recorded during the recent robotics summit, this one with Carlos Bielicki VP of Sales from Performance Motion Devices in an interview with Chris Lueke, host of the Manufacturing Happy Hour.
This week we connect with Mike Pivac, CEO of FBR. The Australian robotics company recently brought the latest generation of its HadrianX autonomous bricklaying robot to the U.S. for early market trials during the next 6 months. We talked with Pivac about the market needs that fueled the creation and evolution of HadrianX over the last decade. This innovative robot can lay up the brick walls for a residential home autonomously in a single workday.This episode also features an interview with Chris Luecke (The Manufacturing Happy Hour) and Joe Martino (Maxon Group) about the features and use cases for Maxon motion solutions.
In this episode, we learn how Jacobi Robotics is improving the programming and deployment of industrial robots from CEO and co-founder Max Cao. You'll learn how Jacobi is using AI to simplify the robot programming process. The company has released its first application specifically for palletizing.Later on in the show, Jake Hall, the Manufacturing Millenial, sits down with Jan Hennecke, product manager for Igus at the recent Robotics Summit to learn all about Igus' low-cost and easy-to-program robotics product line.
On today's episode, we catch up with Oana Jinga, co-founder, Chief Commercial and Product Officer for Dexory to learn all about the Dexory warehouse inventory management solution. Also on this episode, we feature a conversation between editorial director Gene Demaitre and Garret Place, Business Development for robotic perception at ifm.
Stratom President and CEO Mark Gordon joins us today on the podcast. Stratom is a military contractor that makes robots for various divisions of the US armed forces.The company has also expanded to the commercial sector with its field robotics solutions, including applications such as mining and construction.Listen in as our friend Aaron Prather from ASTM sits down with Meghan Ziemba of Mavens of Manufacturing to continue our interview series from the Robotics Summit this spring.
On the show today, we talk to Sankalp Arora, CEO and co-founder of Gather.ai, and learn about Gather’s view of warehouse inventory management using drones.The second feature on the show today is an interview with Jake Hall, the Manufacturing Millenial, and Scott Sizemore, Director of Commercial Marketing at Electrocraft.Links:https://www.gather.ai/https://www.electrocraft.com/
On the show this week, we get the inside scoop on automating food manufacturing with Chef Robotics founder and CEO Rajat Bhageria. He takes us through the evolution of the Chef Robotics roadmap and the complexities of handling a variety of precooked food items with a robot.Check out Chef Robotics:Also on the show this week, Meghan Ziemba, host of Mavens of Manufacturing interviews Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder and COO of MassRobotics. This interview was recorded live at the recent Robotics Summit event in Boston.https://www.massrobotics.org/https://www.mavensofmanufacturing.com/
In this episode of The Robot Report Podcast, Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the news of the week, then we hear recent interviews with Mike Oitzman and Ting Ming Ling, founder and CEO of OTSAW. Then we hear Eugene Demaitre interview Etienne Lacroix, CEO and founder of VENTION at the recent Robotics Summit.Links from the show:https://vention.io/https://otsaw.com/camelloplus/https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/20/waymo-foils-downtown-robbery-after-crash-cops-say/
In this episode, Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre discuss highlights from the 2024 Robotics Summit and Expo that took place in Boston earlier in the month. Also featured in this episode are interviews with Agility Robotics co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer, Jonathan Hurst, along with Brightpick co-founder and CEO, Jan Zizka. Agility Robotics was the inaugural RBR50 2024 Robot of the Year winner, and Brightpick was the inaugural RBR50 2024 Application of the Year winner.See all of this years winners here: https://www.therobotreport.com/rbr50-2024/Keep up with the latest robotics news and information here on our network of websites:https://www.therobotreport.com/https://mobilerobotguide.com/https://www.cobottrends.com/
In this episode, we talk to Matt Casella from Richtech about the Adam bartending robot, and then to Chris Padwick from John Deere about creating vision models for spraying weeds in the field. Both interviews occurred during the NVIDIA GTC24 event in March, and both companies leverage NVIDIA technology in their robotic solutions. We also cover the breaking news from the week, including the launch of the new Boston Dynamics Electric AtlasRichtech Robotics: https://www.richtechrobotics.com/John Deere Autonomous Solutions: https://www.deere.com/en/sprayers/see-spray/Boston Dynamics Electric Atlas: https://bostondynamics.com/atlas/
This week, the entire The Robot Report editorial staff is on the show to discuss the highlights of the 2024 RBR50 Innovation Awards that were announced earlier this week. Host Steve Crowe discusses the awards with Mike Oitzman, Eugene Demaitre, and Brianna Wessling.You can view all of the award winners and the writeups of their 2024 winning innovation on The Robot Report website: https://www.therobotreport.com/rbr50-2024/All of this year's winners will be honored at the inaugural RBR50 Gala at the 2024 Robotics Summit and Expo, in Boston, on May 1. There's still time to register: https://www.roboticssummit.com/Plus, you'll be able to see many of the innovations live at the RBR50 pavilion on the expo floor. Congrats to all of this years honorees.
Our featured guest on the show this week is Jamie Lee, Managing Partner at Tamarack Global. Tamarack Global emerged on our radar last month as one of the investors who participated in the recent series B funding round for Figure AI. After meeting Jamie Lee for research for those news stories, we invited Jamie to come onto the podcast and share his investment thesis and the reasons why they are so bullish about humanoids, Figure AI, and especially Figure CEO and founder Brett Adcock.The heart of Tamarack's investment philosophy centers around investing in strong leaders who hire strong teams and build solutions for very large markets. But you'll also learn about Jamie's pragmatic philosophy for evaluating proposals and some of the danger signals that he looks for when evaluating a potential investment.Tamarack Global: https://www.tamarackglobal.com/The Robot Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/
In this episode, cohosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre recap their attendance at the NVIDIA GTC24 event in San Jose CA, and Gene's recent trip to Denmark to attend the R24 robotics event.You'll get to hear about takeaways from the sessions that they attended, the vendor demos and robotics solutions that were at these recent shows. NVIDIA keynote story: https://www.therobotreport.com/nvidia-announces-new-robotics-products-at-gtc-2024/R24 recap story: https://www.therobotreport.com/odense-robotics-culture-of-collaboration-can-overcome-economic-challenges-says-ceo/
This week host Steve Crowe reviews what he saw and learned while attending MODEX in Atlanta GA earlier in the week. Steve highlights the new products and new features for the many automation providers at the show. He also shares some side conversations and checks the pulse of the warehousing and material handling industry. Don't miss this episode if you weren't able to attend the show yourself.
Nag Murty, CEO and cofounder of Electric Sheep, and Michael Laskey, CTO of Electric Sheep join the show this week to discuss how Electric Sheep is disrupting the commercial landscaping industry with autonomous mobile robots and a unique business model. The company is leveraging AI to enable autonomous mowers to cut the grass while simplifying the deployment process in the field. Electric Sheep is also vertically integrating the market segment through the acquisition of commercial landscaping businesses, then training the field workforce and integrating the autonomous mowers in the daily workflow for the field teams while learning and adapting the product.
Eric Adamson, CEO and co-founder of Tortuga, joins us in this episode to discuss agricultural robotics. Tortuga is one of the agtech companies leading the charge to transform greenhouse farming with their autonomous harvesting robots. Eric discusses the difficulties and successes of developing robots for use in greenhouses, shedding light on the processes involved in harvesting strawberries, grapes, and tomatoes. This episode offers an intriguing look into how technology and agriculture are influencing the future of food production, from overcoming design limits to investigating creative alternatives.We also catch up on the news of the week, including the announcement of $675M in a Series B investment round taken by humanoid developer Figure.
On the show this week, we have a conversation with Thomas Tang, CEO and co-founder of Anyware Robotics. Anyware Robotics is launching an autonomous trailer unloading solution, that will make its debut at MODEX 2024.We also catch up with Matt Wicks, Sr Director and robotics automation business leader with Zebra Technology. Matt is responsible for the Fetch Robotics products at Zebra, and brings us up to speed on the AMR portfolio.
On the show today, we interview Dr Aaron Ames, Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Control and Dynamical Systems at CalTech. Dr Ames is also a cofounder and Chief Scientist of 3Laws - a company, providing safety-critical controls architecture for robotics companies.We talk about the last decade of development for bipedal locomotion and the recent evolution of humanoid robots since Dr Ames has been researching and investigating this interesting research area since his postdoc days.You'll also learn about the core technology that's driving robotic safety algorithms and why 3Laws came together to deliver a solution for any robotic system.You can learn more about 3Law on the web at:3lawsrobotics.io
In this week's episode of the podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre discuss the current state of Zipline with Keenan Wyrobek, who is the Chief Technology Officer and also one of the firm's co-founders. Additionally, we learn some more details on the design of the new ZIP delivery "Droid" from the chief droid engineer, Stephen Killian.Gene attended the Manifest, logistics tradeshow in Las Vegas earlier this week, and gives us an update on what he saw at the show.
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre discuss the recent news about the termination of the proposed acquisition of iRobot by Amazon. As a result of the terminated deal, iRobot CEO and cofounder Colin Angle is stepping down from his role as CEO, and the company has laid off 31% of its employees. The companies signed the proposed acquisition agreement on Aug. 4, 2022, and the Seattle-based e-commerce giant would have acquired the Bedford, Mass.-based robotic vacuum vendor for up to $1.7 billion in cash. That amount was lowered to $1.42 billion after iRobot acquired new debt, and it laid off 10% of its staff, or about 140 employees.We discuss potential reasons why the deal failed, and what might be next for iRobot.You can read the complete news story about this on The Robot Report at www.therobotreport.com If you like the show, please like and subscribe and share this with another colleague who might be interested.
On the show this week, cohosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre catch up with Marc Kermisch, CDO at CNHI. Marc takes us through the latest update on autonomy and the digitization of agriculture data to help farmers and growers improve yields and efficiency on the farm.We also recap the latest robotics news and walk through an update from robotics and automation companies who attended the 2024 CES show.
On the show this week, Steve Crowe, Gene Demaitre, and Mike Oitzman sit down and review their favorite robotics news stories from 2023. This episode also features appearances by Ken Goldberg, Ash Sharma, Aaron Prather, Kevin Lawton, and Jeff Linnell - all sharing their thoughts on the top news stories of the year. At the top of the list of news stories are the impact that GenAI and humanoid robots have made this year along with a snapshot of the state of the robotics industry.
In this episode, we learn about the innovative solution from Glidance, the 2023 RoboBusiness Pitchfire pitch contest winner. Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman sit down with Glidance cofounder and CEO Amos Miller to learn all about the genesis of the company and their physical guidance robotic solution from Glidance. The device guides sight-impaired individual by perceiving the world around them and leading them on a safe path to their destination. This device is easy to use and quick to learn and Amos is promising to restore the independence of sight-impaired individuals. Amos lost his sight to retinitis pigmentosa in his 20s. While guide dogs are a tremendous solution and companion for blind individuals, unfortunately, the need far outstrips the number of available guide dogs in any given year. The Glidance solution has the opportunity to help blind individuals regain independence and agency, especially those who lose their sight late in life. The Glide unit goes into beta testing in the middle of 2024 and promises to be as affordable as a new cell phone.To learn more about Glidance, check out their website: glidance.io
Today's episode is a deep dive into warehouse automation. We discuss the role humanoids are hoping to play in logistics, including how GXO is testing the Digit humanoid from Agility Robotics.We also discuss the state of mobile robots with John Santagate, the Vice President of Robotics at Körber Supply Chain. We also talk about artificial intelligence and the growth of picking robots with Peter Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Covariant.
On this episode of the podcast, we check in with Adam Sachs, cofounder and CEO of Vicarious surgical robots. Adam comes back to the show with an update on the long journey to market for surgical robots. Adam last joined us in Episode 56, back in September 2021 when Vicarious first launched the Vicarious Surgical robot into pilot implementations.The Vicarious Surgical robot utilizes a single port requiring a 1.5 cm incision — smaller than the size of a dime — for the insertion of the camera and two robotic instruments, transporting surgeons to a new world of visibility and maneuverability.To learn more about Vicarious Surgical goto: www.vicarioussurgical.comAlso on this episode, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the recent news from General Motors, owner of Cruise about the future of Cruise robotaxi service, and the other major news about the EU response to the Amazon iRobot proposed merger.If you like the show, please subscribe and tell a friend about it, this helps us grow our audience. Thanks.
In this podcast episode, we learn about the new Tangram Vision HiFi 3D sensor with Adam Rodnitzky and Brandon Minor from Tangram Vision. The company recently launched a Kickstarter for their new hardware product and the specs on this new sensor are promising to disrupt the depth sensor market for price and performance. Listen to the interview to learn more about this new product and search “HiFi 3D Sensor” on Kickstarter to see the complete product specs and get in the queue for your own camera.Also on this episode, we sit down with David Pepper, cofounder and CEO of Next Generation Robotics, to learn how they innovate by offering “optimization as a service” for expanded capabilities in fleet management and inventory movement within warehouses. The company has been developing its algorithms and setting up a cloud-based service for robotics vendors and warehouse management software (WMS) providers to tap into optimization algorithms for their specific workflows. The service is now available for use.Finally, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the news of the week, focusing on Kyle Vogt's departure from Cruise and what this means for the autonomous robotaxi market.If you like the show, please subscribe and tell a friend about it, this helps us grow our audience. Thanks.
This episode features a double header of interviews, a recap of news from the week, and the reintroduction of Eugene Demaitre as a cohost of the show.We welcome Eugene Demaitre back to the show as he rejoins the editorial staff as editorial director at The Robot Report and WTWH Media. Eugene co-founded this podcast together with Steve Crowe.This week's first interview is with Craig Van den Avont, President at GAM Enterprises. GAM manufactures motion drives and other custom motion control solutions. The second interview is with Mor Peretz, CEO and co-founder of CaPow. CaPow is a startup innovating with wireless power delivery for AMRs and AGVs. Their unique solution can continuously deliver wireless power, enabling mobile robots' unique operation without a traditional battery onboard.The show is longer than normal this week, but both companies deliver unique value and innovation to their clients.For more information check out:GAM Enterprises: gamweb.comCaPow: capow.energyShow schedule:28:19 - Interview with Craig Van den Avont - President at GAM Enterprises.1:01:19 - Interview with Mor Peretz, CEO and Cofounder of CaPow
On the show today we recap the October funding stories and other robotics news stories of the last week, and then talk to Joyce Sidopoulis and Marita McGinn from MassRobotics about the upcoming 2024 MassRobotics Accelerator program (applications close Nov 30).For our featured interview, we talked to Brightpick CEO Jan Zizka about the capabilities and application of the new Brightpick mobile manipulator for eaches picking with the warehouse. For links to all of the stories with reference on the show today, check out the show notes on therobotreport.com
In this episode, we recap the recent RoboBusiness 2023 event and the recent news of Agility Robotics humanoid testing at Amazon.Our featured interview on this episode is with Dr. Kate Darling, who is joining Marc Raibert in her dream job at the Boston Dynamics AI Institute to head up their AI and ethics research group.We talk to Kate about everything from AI and humanoid robots to her kids' love affair with the Marty Robot at the local Stop and Shop supermarket.Note: This is a long episode, but there was so much to talk about with Kate, that we didn't want to cut anything out.
On the show this week, we check in with RGO Robotics cofounder and CEO Amir Bousani and Simon Jensen-Fellows from Verizon for an in-depth conversation about how AI is quickly evolving and how this will impact the perception and autonomy capabilities of mobile robots. Simon informs us on how Verizon's 5G network can support the edge computing and communication needs of the mobile robotics industry in the future. It's a look at how the architecture of the cloud and the edge is evolving to meet the growing needs of mobile robotics. We also cover the news of the week, including the announcement of a new funding round for mobile robotics software provider Formant, and we have a quick interview with Formant cofounder and CEO Jeff Linnell.
On this episode, we sit down with Vecna Robotics Founder and Chairman Daniel Theobald and talk about the perils of funding early-stage robotics startups and the experience that Daniel will bring to the Robotics Startup Workshop on October 18 at RoboBusiness 2023. Daniel also takes us behind the scenes at his latest venture at Twisted Fields on the California coast, his personal farm and ag-robotics test ground. It's a great conversation with one of the mobile robotics industry luminaries.
This week's podcast focuses heavily on the agricultural robotics industry. Mike shares his insights from FIRA USA and we sit down with Brandon Contino, CEO and co-founder of Four Growers, a startup building robots to harvest foods grown in greenhouses. Brandon talks about the technical and business challenges related to the robot and how focusing on greenhouses helps product evolution,We also recap the stories of the week, including how Toyota Research Institute is using Generative AI to help robots learn dexterous manipulation behaviors. TRI is looking to build Large Behavior Models for robots, akin to Large Language Models (LLMs) for conversational AI.
Our guest this week is a long-time friend of the show and industry innovator Melonee Wise. Melonee was a co-founder of Fetch Robotics (acquired by Zebra in 2021), and an early pioneer of mobile robotics at Willow Garage.Melonee recently joined Agility Robotics in the role of CTO, where she is leading the technical roadmap. She brings a breadth of experience in commercializing mobile robotic solutions. The interview with Melonee starts at 23:51.In addition, catch up on the latest news in the robotics world with hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman.
Andrew Smith, CEO and co-founder of Outrider, takes us inside the company's efforts to commercialize yard automation. Outrider turns electric yard trucks into autonomous vehicles that couple tractor to trailer using its patented robotic arm and precisely maneuver between dock doors and parking spots.We also recap the tops stories of the week, including new GPT-based cobot arms, declining robot sales in North America and more.https://www.robobusiness.com/https://www.outrider.ai/https://www.therobotreport.com/doosan-microsoft-plan-to-build-gpt-based-robots/https://www.therobotreport.com/a3-north-american-robot-orders-drop-for-2nd-quarter-in-a-row/https://mobilerobotguide.com/2023/08/30/pudu-robotics-launches-open-platform-for-remote-management-of-amrs/
The humanoid robot market is quickly maturing. Our guest this week is Apptronik CEO and cofounder Jeff Cardenas. He tells the in-depth story about the development of legged robotics and humanoids at Apptronik and the launch of the company's first commercial humanoid robot, Apollo. With the launch of Apollo, Apptronik became one of the early innovators in the race to create a general-purpose humanoid robot. It turns out that the company has a rich history in legged robotics, having worked on the first generation of NASA Valkyrie robot, and multiple generations of exoskeletons since its founding in 2015.
In this episode, cohost Mike Oitzman sits down with ANYbotics Chief Commercial Officer Enzo Wälchli to learn all about the swiss designed quadruped robot. The ANYmal is designed to be explosion-proof and operate in extreme environments including inspection tasks for oil and gas processing facilities, offshore oil rigs, processing plants, manufacturing facilities and anywhere else that require a nimble mobile platform to operate.
ANYbotics is expanding into North America, and Wälchli discusses how the company is approaching this expansion and building its distribution and support network. The company has been selling solutions in Europe since the launch of ANYmal in 2019. The company spun out of ETH Zurich in 2016.
This week, cohost Mike Oitzman catches up with a longtime friend and fellow podcaster Kevin Lawton, host of The New Warehouse Podcast. We talk about the state of automation in the warehouse and how the market is evolving. Be sure to check out The New Warehouse Podcast for everything related to warehouse operations and technology.
On the show this week we review the robotics industry news, including a story about the Ocado acquisition of 6 River Systems and the fire sale price that Ocado paid for the assets of 6 River Systems from Shopify earlier this year. The featured interview is a conversation with Aerobotix VP of Sales, Chris Kolb. Aerobotix builds and integrates robotic inspection, sanding, and painting systems for US military aircraft maintenance. The systems installed by Aerobotix even painted the US Air Force aircraft filmed for the original Top Gun Maverick movie.
This week we feature the Robotics Summit 2023 keynote fireside chat between Steve Crowe and Marc Raibert. Marc cofounded Boston Dynamics and led the company as CEO for 30 years until he left last year to found the non-profit Boston Dynamics AI Institute. Steve and Marc talk about the amazing innovation at Boston Dynamics and why Marc decided to switch gears a bit and move over to pure AI research at the AI institute. It's a memorable conversation that we wanted to feature on the podcast both for listeners who were unable to attend and as a recap for those who did attend the recent Robotics Summit event in Boston.
On the show this week, we talk to Marc Segura, President of the ABB Robotics Division. Marc is an industry veteran with 25+ years at ABB. On the show, he gives us his perspective on the current state of the robotics market, the roadmap for ABB products and the future of mobile robots. Marc introduces us to the new lineup of ABB industrial robots with changeable link sizes, enabling 22 variants of four base models.
In this episode, we recap the recent LogiMat tradeshow in Europe with Waku Robotics founder and CEO Victor SplittGerber. Victor also brings us up to speed on the European AMR market and the evolution of the Lotsofbots online mobile robot database that Waku Robotics developed and maintains.
In this episode, we talk to Relay Robotics CEO Michael O'Donnell and CTO Steve Cousins about the features of the newly launched Relay2 delivery robot. O'Donnell discusses how the hotel foodservice market has changed during the pandemic and why third-party food delivery apps like Doordash have upended the room service market for hotels. The result is a renewed opportunity for a larger payload Relay robot to become an important addition to a hotel's service offerings for travelers. Cousins discusses the evolution of the elevator interface integration and the removal of the mechanical elevator-pushing interface that was a key part of the Relay1 robot.
This week we have the pleasure of interviewing Roberta Nelson Shea who was the 2023 Joseph F Engelberger Robotics Application Award winner. Roberta tells us some great stories from her career leading the development of worldwide robotics safety standards.
In this episode, we talk to Figure CEO and cofounder Brett Adcock about his vision for building general-purpose humanoid robots. The company recently closed its series A for $70M and is a year into the design and development of its first humanoid robot.This episode is sponsored by Cloud Ground Control.
In this episode, we go into detail about cloud-based control of remote fleets of outdoor robotics with an interview with Xavier Orr, CEO, of Advanced Navigation along with one of its customers: Michael Arens, co-founder and CEO of Clean Earth Rovers. Advanced Navigation has a portfolio of guidance sensors, a plug-and-play cellular modem, and the new Cloud Ground Control software.
This week, we recap the 2023 Robotics Summit event that took place last week in Boston. On the show, Mike Oitzman interviews Fox Robotics' new CEO Marin Tchakarov during a recent visit to Austin TX, and Mike also interviews Canvas Robotics' CEO and co-founder Kevin Albert about the innovation of using robots to help to finish dry wall at construction sites. This episode is sponsored by Cloud Ground Control, learn more at: https://www.cloudgroundcontrol.com/
Our guest this week is Christine Boles, Vice President in the Network & Edge Group (NEX) and General Manager of Intel’s Federal and Industrial Solutions. Robotics at Intel falls under Federal and Industrial Solutions, so Christine plays a pivotal role in developing Intel’s solutions roadmap for robotics developers.We talk to her about the key technologies available today from Intel, including software, hardware and sensors essential for robotics development. We’ll also learn what new technologies will be coming out from Intel in the near future.
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review some of their favorite 2023 RBR50 Innovation Award honorees, discussing innovation trends in robotics and what stands out as the state of the art in robotics development across the entire industry, from space robotics to your local grocery aisle.
In this episode, we review John Deere AgTech presented at the 2023 John Deere Technology Summit, and interview Jorge Heraud, VP of Autonomy at John Deere. Later in the episode we discuss the sensor and perception stack being developed to operate the Zoox autonomous vehicle with two of Zoox's technology leaders: RJ He and Ryan McMichael.If you love autonomous vehicles, this episode looks at the current state of AV technology in two of the key use cases.
This week, Steve and Mike recap all of the robotics-related technology on display at the 2023 ProMat tradeshow. Steve went to the show and shares his discoveries and some of the conversations with industry leaders. Mike reviews news from the NVIDIA GTC keynote and robotics-related news from NVIDIA.
In the news today, we talk about the breaking story about the impact of Silicon Valley Bank being closed and put into receivership by the FDIC and the impact that this is likely to have on technology startups and the VCs that support their growth. This rapidly evolving situation is likely to have repercussions for the tech industry the remainder of the year. Unrelated to the SVB story, we also interview Rylan Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of 6 River Systems about his start in robotics with Kiva Systems and how he started and built 6 River Systems into a leading AMR manufacturer that's now a major part of the Shopify family.
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the uncloaking of Figure.AI, a new humanoid robot. They also discuss the latest with ChatGPT and what the latest release brings for roboticists. Our guest on the show today is Dejan Pangercic, co-founder and CTO of APEX.ai, an autonomous vehicle software company that has built a hardned OS around ROS 2. Dejan takes us through the features of the software and why it is an important solution for developers of autonomous vehicles today.
This week, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman talk to industry veteran Ted Larson, the co-founder and CEO of OLogic. Ted, and OLogic have helped many robotic entrepreneurs through the design & development process of complex systems. Ted shares some of his favorite stories and valuable tips related to the complexities of developing successful robotic solutions.
This week cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman explore the various robotic and automation solutions that were on display at the 2023 World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA. The episode features interviews with representatives from Monarch Tractor, Agtonomy, Carbon Robotics and Farmwise. Mike also discusses new solutions from Tevel Aerobotics, Farm-NG, Amos Power, Nexus Robotics, Bluewhite, Beewise, and Guardian Agriculture.
Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review the news of the week, including a wayward Marty robot "out for a fresh air break".Joining us on the show this week is Aaron Prather, who is one of the robotics industries best known influencers. Aaron is a frequent speaker and discusses his new role at ASTM and reflects on his prior experience evaluating new robotics and automation for logistics and warehouse workflows in his previous role at FedEx. If you work for a young robotics startup, this is a great conversation to learn how to prepare for and deliver on the needs of your early clients.
This week, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review the latest Boston Dynamics Atlas video and how Atlas is getting more agile through simulation.Mike Oitzman reviews his recent trip to CES 2023, and features interviews with Aeolus Robotics Head of Product, Dan Haddick. Next we talk to Robosen Chief Marketing Officer Tony Crisp about the capabilities of Optimus Prime toy robot, and what's next on their roadmap. Finally, Mike recaps the recent IAC @ CES autonomous car race and interviews IAC founder Paul Mitchell.
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the top moments and biggest stories that happened in the robotics industry during 2022. Thanks again to all our listeners and guests for another great year!
This week we discuss the issue of police officers using robots with lethal force in emergency situations. After an initial 8-3 vote approving such a measure, San Francisco's board of supervisors reversed course this week and temporarily banned its police officers from using robots with lethal force.To break this all down, we're joined by Paul Scharre, Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. Paul previously worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he played a leading role in establishing policies around unmanned and autonomous systems and emerging weapons technologies.
To celebrate our 100th episode, we look back at our favorite guests and moments. We also look ahead at what's next for the show.Nic Radford, founder and CEO of Nauticus Robotics, joins the show to discuss his team's development of underwater robots. Leveraging experience developing space robots for NASA, Nauticus' underwater robots can perform inspection and maintenance tasks and much more.
In this episode, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman talk to the co-founders of the Robotics Operations Group, affectionately known as "ROG" about the recent inaugural RobOpsCon. The mission of ROG is to develop and share best practices for the operation at scale of autonomous robots. Guests Florian Pestoni and Joe Wieciek talk to Mike about the growth of the group and the planning for the recent conference. For more information check out: robops.org We also talk about the news from the week, including a recent patent fight between "Robo dog" vendors Ghost Robotics and Boston Dynamics.
Samantha Johnson, founder and CEO of Boston-based startup Tatum Robotics, describes the company's anthropomorphic robotic system designed to sign tactile sign languages for people with deafblindness - they can't hear or see. Johnson dives into the challenging system design and the opportunities for such technology. Samantha also discusses her passion for helping the deafblind community, educating us about some of the daily challenges of those living with deafblindness.
In this episode, we discuss the news of the shutdown of Argo AI and the state of autonomous driving, including the upcoming IAC race event. Mike interviews Covariant.AI CEO, Peter Chen, and they discuss the new CovariantOne RaaS solution, that's based on performance SLAs for the Covariant warehouse solution.
In this episode, we talk to Eliot Horowitz, founder and CEO of Viam Inc. Viam launched the open beta of its new robotics platform. Viam provides an open-source robot architecture that turns complex functionality into simple APIs, with an integrated cloud service to orchestrate production deployments. Co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman also discuss news of the week, includes the end of delivery robot testing with Amazon and Fedex.
This week, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the recent unveiling of the Tesla Optimus bipedal robot at the Tesla AI Days 2022 event. We also learn about the latest in warehouse and logistics automation in an interview with Swisslog USA President, Markus Schmidt.
This week, we talk with RoboTire CEO Victor Darolfi about automating tire-changing in auto shops. Victor explains the challenges of combining vision and robots to automate dirty, back-breaking work.
Co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by Dan Kara to preview and discuss the upcoming RoboBusiness and Field Robotics Engineering Forum. The events take place October 19-20, 2022 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. To register, go to robobusiness.com
Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the latest news about commercial UAVs, the recent FTC investigation of Amazon's pending acquisition of iRobot and Mike interviews Kishore Boyalakuntla, VP of products at automation provider Berkshire Grey
Michael Kohen, founder and CEO of Spark AI, joins the show. Michael discusses situations in which AI and machine learning still come up short for robotics systems and how his company's human-in-the-loop system helps solve edge cases in real-time. He shares specific real-world examples, including details about Spark AI's partnership with John Deere and its autonomous tractors.
The podcast also discusses the top stories of the week, including the US government imposing restrictions on AMD and NVIDIA selling certain AI chipsets to China. We breakdown what this could mean for robotics.
Jessica Yip, co-founder and chief operating officer of Canadian startup A&K Robotics joins the podcast. She discusses A&K's autonomous, electric pods that are being tested at airports to move passengers with mobility issues around concourses. The podcast also recaps the stories of the week, including Chili's pausing a robotics pilot, Locus scoring a major win with GEODIS and more.
This week we get an update on the technology embedded within the Indy Autonomous Challenge racecars in a conversation with Joe Speed, plus we learn how Skyline Robotics is deploying robots to clean skyscraper windows in New York City.
Peter Finn, managing director of Cowen’s Industrials investment banking group, joins the podcast to discuss the state of investment into the robotics industry. Peter discusses how inflation, higher interest rates, and other world issues have impacted how investors are approaching robotics companies. He also shares the trends he's seeing, markets he's excited about, investment advice and thoughts about Amazon’s pending acquisition of iRobot.
This week our guest is Sally Miller, Chief Information Officer for DHL Supply Chain North America. Sally discusses the deployment of robotics at DHL North America, and how DHL likes to work with vendors to innovate and optimize their logistic workflows. This episode is sponsored by Weintek USA, maker of HMIs. For more information check out: http://www.weintekusa.com or call +1.425.488.1100
Nima Fazeli, assistant professor of robotics at the University of Michigan and director of the Manipulation and Machine Intelligence Lab, joins the program to discuss the flaws of the chess-playing robot that broke a 7-year-old's finger during a tournament in Russia. Fazeli helped develop a Jenga-playing robot while at MIT.
Mike and Steve also hit on the top stories of the week, including researchers using dead wolf spiders as mechanical grippers and another strong quarter for Teradyne's robotics group.
Show Notes https://www.mmintlab.com/ https://www.therobotreport.com/mit-robot-uses-vision-touch-learn-jenga/ https://www.therobotreport.com/why-im-saying-no-to-necrobotics/ https://www.therobotreport.com/teradynes-robotics-group-101m-q2-2022/ https://www.therobotreport.com/locus-robotics-completes-soc-2-certification/ https://www.robobusiness.com/ https://www.fieldroboticsforum.com/
Mike Dooley, co-founder and CEO of robotics startup Labrador Systems, joins the podcast. We discuss how Labrador built autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for home environments to help the elderly and those with mobility issues. Mike also discusses how his days at Evolution Robotics and iRobot helped shape some of the decisions being made at Labrador Systems.
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman also dive into the recent layoffs and shutdowns that have impacted numerous robotics companies.
Our guest this week is Brian Gerkey, CEO and co-founder of Open Robotics and one of creators of ROS. Brian tells us about the development and evolution of the Robot Operating System (ROS) and why open source software has played such a pivotal role in the growth of the robotics industry and in the acceleration of robotics research in university and corporate robotic labs around the world.
This week, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the recent ban of autonomous tractors in California and what this means for the AGTECH industry to be able to test new solutions in California. Featured interview this week is Anders Beck, VP of Innovation and Strategy at Universal Robots. Anders introduces us to the new UR20 robot that was launched at Automatica 2022 this week. Special music this week is Tennessee Mines by Sam Hill, embedded with a CC Attribution-NonCommercial-sharealike 3.0 license.
Niels Jul Jacobsen, CEO of Danish startup Capra Robotics, joins the show to discuss the company's innovative mobile robotics platform. He also shares lessons learned from scaling and selling Mobile Industrial Robots, an AMR developer he founded in 2013.
Capra Robotics Website - https://capra.ooo/
https://www.therobotreport.com/watch-disneylands-spider-man-robot-crash-into-building/
https://www.therobotreport.com/watch-ghost-robotics-quadruped-go-swimming/
In this episode, cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman learn the incredible story behind the bionic clothing company Cionic. The company was founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Jeremiah Robison who joins us on the show this week to discuss his mission to build bionic clothing that can analyze and augment human movement, enabling the body to move with more freedom and control.
In this episode, co-hosts Steve and Mike interview Scythe Robotics co-founder and CEO Jack Morrison. They discuss the market for autonomous landscaping, the features of the Scythe autonomous mower and Scythe's unique RaaS-based business model for commercial landscapers. Steve and Mike also discuss robots realism in the movies, the upcoming Automate Show and the launch of Epson's new flagship SCARA robot product line.
Amir Bousani, co-founder and CEO of RGo Robotics, joins the show to discuss the state of perception for mobile robots. RGo Robotics recently exited stealth mode with $20 million in funding to scale its perception platform.
This week, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by WTWH VP of Robotics, Dan Kara and Jake Hall (AKA the Manufacturing Millennial) to recap the 2022 Robotics Summit that occurred last week in Boston. The event brought together a who's who of industry leaders to learn about new innovation and the technology that's supporting the growth of the robotics industry.
This week, hosts Steve and Mike discuss the recent Cascadia connect event in Pittsburgh, where the announcement was made launching the the new US Alliance of Robotics Clusters. Mike had the opportunity to talk to Silicon Valley Robotics director Andra Keay and Pittsburgh Robotics Network director Joel Reed about the goals of the new organization. Mike also visiting Pittsburgh robotics company Agility Robotics and had the opportunity to catch up with co-founder and CEO Damion Shelton,
In this episode, Steve and Mike are joined by Dan Kara and the three of them discuss the 2022 RBR50 honorees, including some of the most innovative and memorable solutions in this years cohort of award winners.
In this episode, we interview Willy Pell, VP of Autonomy, from Blue River technology. Willy goes deep on how AI and machine learning are core to the automation of John Deere tractors and discusses how important this is to the future of agriculture. Blue River Technology was acquired by John Deere in 2017 and is now a core part of the next generation of John Deere tractors, implements and making farming easier. Willy talks about the parallels between autonomous driving the autonomous control of farming equipment.
Welcome to Episode 74 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community. In today's episode: Steve and Mike discuss the product announcements and serendipitous discoveries at the recent MODEX tradeshow in Atlanta Georgia. Mike highlights his favorite new products that debuted at the show. We also interview Brian Tu, Chief Revenue Officer of DCL Logistics, who are a Universal Robots customer that deployed the UR robots to help improve the efficiency of the logistics operations in their distribution center.
Mike talks to Black I Robotics founder and CEO Brian Hart, to discuss the introduction of the new Black I Fullscope Mobile Heavy Lift Arm. This new robotics solution is designed to be mounted on top of an AMR/AGV and deployed in a warehouse to autonomously pick up/drop off heavy items. The robotic arm is being shown publicly for the first time at MODEX in Atlanta next week. Steve and Mike also discuss the latest news stories from the last week.
Steve and Mike discuss the latest robot news from the last week, including the acquisition of Matrox by Zebra Techolologies, a new Realsense camera from Intel, the new Techmetics TRV AMR, the new Robotnik Robout heavy payload AMR and the deployment of BreezyOne Robot at Houston Airports. Our guest on the show today is Mark Messina, who as recently hired as CEO, Americas for warehouse solutions provider Addverb Technologies. Addverb is one of the largest warehouse solutions providers in Asia and are beginning its expansion into the Americas under the leadership of Mr Messina.
In today's episode, Steve and Mike interview Rashed Haq, VP of Robotics for Cruise. Rashed discusses the current deployment of Cruise autonomous taxi's in San Francisco and what the company expects to learn from the experience as it gradually expanding its operating scope. Potentially passengers can now signup to be a part of the beta program and ride one of the robotaxis on the Cruise website.
OTTO Motors CEO Matt Rendall joins us to discuss the growth and evolution of OTTO Motors, the current state of the material handling business and how simulation plays a big role in selling and supporting AMRs. We also celebrate the one year anniversary of the MARS 2020 mission.
On this weeks episode we interview Savioke Robotics founder and CEO Steve Cousins about the new features and capabilities of the recently released Relay+ robot. Relay+ includes a new mechanical actuator to interact with the elevator without the need for a wired integration.
Steve Crow and Mike Oitzman also review the most interesting robotics solutions on display at the 2022 World Ag Expo, including apple picking drones, dairy cow inoculating robots and a mummy shooting mobile robot.
Adrian Macneil, co-founder and CEO of Calif.-based startup Foxglove, discusses open source visualization and debugging tool for robotics. He discusses the company's spin-out from autonomous driving company Cruise, how its solutions differ from RViz, challenges of robotics development and the keys to running his startup.
In this weeks episode Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzmanreview the large number of recent robotics funding announcements over the past week. Mike interviews Jan Becker and Joe Speed from APEX.AI and they discuss the importance and evolution of real-time operating systems and technology stacks for autonomous vehicles. They also discuss the Autonomous Challenge at CES event.
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by Dan Kara and the team discusses their thoughts about what's coming in 2022 in the world of robotics. You'll get three unique perspectives on the latest trends and happenings in industrial robotics, mobile robots and autonomous vehicles.
For the last episode of 2021, the editorial staff of Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Dan Kara review and discuss the top robotics stories of 2021. Thank you to all of our faithful audience for a great year. If you have feedback or input, leave us a voicemail at therobotreport.com/voicemail
Welcome to Episode 64 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community. In today's episode, Steve and Mike interview Fady Saad from Massrobotics and Eric Anderson from AWS Robotics about how Massrobotics and AWS are enabling young robotics startups to accelerate their growth and development. We learn about the new startup incubator program starting in 2022 and how your company can participate. Also on the show, we hear from Savioke CEO Steve Cousins about how a new feature in the Savioke Relay+ is delighting customers and setting the standard for social robotics interactions in the field.
Welcome to Episode 63 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.
In today's episode, Steve and Mike interview robotics innovator Esben Østergaard, CEO of Reinvest Robotics and cofounder of Universal Robots. We discuss the potential impact of the pending EU AI Act and Machinery Directive. These directives are likely to impact the growth of AI startup in the EU and burden them with rules that will hamper innovation. Esben offers his thoughts about innovation and how successful robotics startups need a competitive playing field to be successful. Could this be the death of robotic and AI innovation in the EU? Listen in to learn more.
Here's a link to Esben's recent blog about the impact of the EU AI Act and Machinery Directive.
“The approach of the current machinery directive is sufficient. The problem is with governance. We recommend focusing on ensuring that products on the market actually comply with the current EU law, not creating new regulations,” said Østergaard.
Steve and Mike also review the latest robotics news stories from the last week, including the following stories reported on The Robot Report:
- Robotics Summit & Expo 2022 call for speakers
- MiR is building autonomous pallet jacks
- Knightscope IPO taking security robots public
- Serve Robotics closes $13 million funding round
- Nuro, Waymo bring autonomous deliveries to California
Samir Menon, founder and CEO of Dexterity Inc. joins the program this week. We discuss Dexterity's rapid growth and its approach to developing full-stack robotic picking for logistics, supply chain, and warehousing applications.
Mike and Steve also discuss some recent trending stories, including China's role is ending a potential autonomous vehicle SPAC.
https://www.therobotreport.com/spac-merger-plus-autonomous-trucks-called-off/
https://www.therobotreport.com/gatik-autonomous-box-trucks-milestone-walmart/
https://www.therobotreport.com/autonomous-racing-goes-head-to-head-at-the-autonomous-challenge-ces-in-las-vegas/
Today’s episode recaps a major week for autonomous vehicles. Cruise co-founder, CTO and president Kyle Vogt hailed the first driverless robotaxi ride in SF, Waymo started to map New York City and Nuro raised another $600M for its autonomous delivery vehicles. And we don’t even mention Aurora debuting on the Nasdaq, FedEx testing autonomous delivery in China, and Autobrains raising $101 million for its unsupervised AI for autonomous vehicles.
You'll also hear from James DeSmet, president and CEO of CRG Automation. The company built a robotic system to help decommission a stockpile of 70,000 chemical missiles at a base in Kentucky. James walks us through the challenges of the project.
Our favorite quote from the interview: “We’re just packaging a very dangerous chemical weapon instead of a Twinkie. It’s a little different, but it’s the same.” You can check out videos of the system in action over at CRG Automation’s YouTube channel.
In today's episode, Steve and Mike interview Alex Wischnewski, team lead for Technical University of Munich [TUM], and the winning race team at the 2021 Indy Autonomous Challenge. Alex discusses how the team came together for the competition and the stress of race day when they had to make changes to the race parameters to balance speed with safe operations. The Indy Autonomous Challenge turned out to be more difficult than anyone anticipated, and Alex provides a first hand view of pushing autonomous vehicles to the limit. Steve and Mike also cover the latest robotics news stories from the last week.
Mike caught up with Melonee Wise, founder of Fetch Robotics and VP of robotics automation at Zebra Technologies, at the AMRs and Logistics Conference. They discussed the new Fetch FlexShelf, FlexShelf Guide, RollerTop Guide autonomous mobile robot solutions that came out this week, as well as the state of logistics automation.
We also discuss the news of the week, including Softbank reportedly negotiating the sale of its French robotics business, Softbank Robotics Europe, to German distributor United Robotics Group. We also discuss the new AMR solutions from Fetch Robotics, the historic IPO of AutoStore on the Oslo Stock Exchange and a couple of food-related automation items.
Show Notes https://www.therobotreport.com/report-softbank-negotiating-sale-of-french-robotics-business/
https://www.therobotreport.com/fetch-robotics-adds-3-amrs-person-to-goods-workflows/
https://www.therobotreport.com/autostore-stock-surges-debut-oslo-stock-exchange/
https://www.therobotreport.com/spyce-closes-original-robotic-restaurant-in-boston/
This week, Steve and Mike recap the Autonomous Mobile Robots and Logistics Conference that took place in Memphis.
They also talk to Stephanie Cannon of Pitney Bowes, which is deploying robotics systems from Ambi Robotics throughout the U.S to support its e-commerce network.
We also discuss the news of the week, including Waymo's self-driving cars repeatedly hitting a dead-end in San Francisco, and the outrage sparked by a commercial quadruped that was outfitted with an unmanned rifle.
Our guest this week is Jon Hirschtick from PTC. Jon has started (and sold) two popular product development companies in his career: SolidWorks and Onshape. We also cover the robotics news from the week, PLUS a special discussion about our favorite startups for 2021.
Timestamps
News recap: 0-18:18 Interview with PTC's Jon Hirschtick: 20:57-1:04:40 Voicemails/Favorite Robotics Startups: 1:04:43-1:36:37
Amazon introduced its much-anticipated home robot this week, and it's underwhelmed the robotics industry. Mike and Steve share their thoughts on why Astro's future doesn't look bright. Listeners also call in to share their thoughts on the home robot.
We also sit down with Adam Sachs, CEO and founder of Vicarious Surgical. Adam discusses the company's next-gen surgical robotics system, the challenges and keys to building it, and debuting on the NYSE.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ypp8/leaked-documents-amazon-astro-surveillance-robot-tracking
Steve and Mike talk to Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics and Jason Walker, CEO of Waypoint Robotics to discuss the big news of the day: the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics by Locus Robotics. The acquisition will pay immediate dividends for Locus customers who want a higher payload AMR for moving inventory within their warehouse. Rick and Jason share their stories about how the acquisition came together and what it means for both Locus Robotics customers and Waypoint Robotics customers.
In episode 54, Steve and Mike discuss recent funding news for four robotics companies totally $531M; iRobot J7+ poop avoidance algorithms; cost of the recent Ocado ASRS fire. We also interview Photoneo CTO, Tomas Kovacovsky, about 3D vision, 3D cameras and what it takes to build a robust, industrial camera/vision solution.
In episode 53 of The Robot Report Podcast, Steve and Mike discuss the Carbon Robotics funding; an update on the Intel LiDAR EOL; Attabotics patent case; Agility Robotics, Digit video. We also talk to Realtime Robotics founder and CTO George Konidaris about robot perception, safety and control.
In episode 52 of The Robot Report podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the recent news about Waymo expansion of driverless taxi service into San Francisco. Also featured in this episode is a conversation between Steve and Yaro Tenzer, CEO of RightHand Robotics. Steve and Yaro discuss the technology and capabilities of the RHR bin-picking and singulation solution for warehouse fulfillment applications.
Steve and Mike discuss the breaking news this week about the end of life for Intel RealSense cameras. Tesla unveiled plans to build a humanoid robot. We talk to Stratom CEO Mark Gordon about the autonomous solutions that help US troops to accomplish their mission in the field.
John Deere recently acquired startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. Founded in 2017, Bear Flag Robotics retrofits its autonomy stack onto existing tractors.
Dan Leibfried, Director, Autonomy and Automation, John Deere, and Igino Cafiero, Co-founder & CEO, Bear Flag Robotics, join the show to discuss the future of autonomous tractors and agricultural robotics.
Mike also updates us on his trip to ATX West, we dive into our latest investments recap and we celebrate our 50 episode!
http://www.therobotreport.com
http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com
http://www.mobilerobotguide.com
http://www.cobottrends.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0TB8KlrIx4
https://www.therobotreport.com/july-2021-robotics-investments-and-acquisitions/
https://mobilerobotguide.com/2021/08/05/john-deere-buys-developer-of-autonomous-tractors/
We talk to Jeff Chapman, the founder of The Chapman Group, about the current state of hiring within the North American robotics industry. Jeff is one of the "most connected" individual's within the robotics and automation industry and currently helps companies find talent and he helps individuals find the right opportunity. Tune into to learn what's Jeff's from his unique perspective on the industry.
We talk to Sami Atiya, CEO of ABB Robotics and Verónica Pascual, CEO of ASTI to get their insights on the recently announced acquisition of the Spanish mobile robotics company: ASTI Mobile Robots. The two companies have deployed their solutions to multiple, mutual customers in Europe in recent years. The combination of companies and products will establish the worldwide ABB mobile robotics development center in Borgas Spain (the current location of ASTI), while extending the reach of ASTI from 20 countries to 50+ countries. ASTI CEO Verónica Pascual will take on the role as leader of the new ABB mobile robotics division.
Claus Risager, CEO and co-founder of Blue Ocean Robotics, discusses the evolution of the Danish company and its early entry into disinfection robots. He also tries to sell us on the benefits of telepresence robots.
We also discuss the bigger stories in the robotics industry of late, including the future of Fetch Robotics after the Zebra acquisition, Aurora taking its self-driving tech public via SPAC, the shutdown of Abundant Robotics and the Ingenuity Helicopter completing another historic flight on Mars.
https://mobilerobotguide.com/2020/04/01/robotic-solutions-for-covid-19/
https://mobilerobotguide.com/2021/07/08/a-bright-future-for-fetch-robotics-following-zebra-acquisition/
https://www.therobotreport.com/aurora-taking-autonomous-vehicle-tech-public-via-spac/
This week, Mike Demko, head of AutoStore’s MFC business line, joins the program to discuss the growth of e-commerce and the role automation is playing. We also hear from Jason dePreaux, a market analyst for Interact Analysis, who discusses the robotics industry services market.
https://roboweeks.com/
https://www.therobotreport.com/softbank-robotics-europe-cutting-workforce-40-in-shake-up/
https://www.therobotreport.com/hyundai-completes-acquisition-controlling-stake-boston-dynamics/
https://mobilerobotguide.com/2021/06/15/dusty-robotics-raises-16-5m-in-series-a-funding/
https://www.therobotreport.com/weride-raises-310m-funding-autonomous-vehicles/
https://www.interactanalysis.com/the-warehouse-automation-service-market-may-2021/
This week we break down the winners of the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards, which honor technology, business, and market innovations for the global robotics industry. We discuss how we picked the 50 winners, what we consider to be innovative, and share our personal favorite winners.
https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/2021-rbr50-robotics-innovation-award-honorees/
https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/2021-rbr50-robotics-innovation-awards-digital-edition/
In this episode we sit down and learn about the Robot Operations Group with co-founders Florian Pestoni and Joe Wieciek.
In the second half of the show we discuss one vendor's experience as part of the working committee for the recent R15.08 Safety Standard when we talk to Mike Bearman from Vecna Robotics.
Joel Johnson, the passenger inside the Waymo One robotaxi that was confused by construction cones, takes us inside what went wrong. He also talks about his overall experience with Waymo One, which includes 147 rides to date.
We also catch up with Tom Ryden, executive director of MassRobotics, who takes us inside the develop of the group's new mobile robot interoperability standard.
A3 president Jeff Burnstein returns to discuss the growth of robot shipments in North America for the first quarter of 2021. He discusses the impact COVID-19 had on the growth, the surge in non-automotive orders, and much more. We also catch up with WiBotic to discuss the benefits of wireless charging for autonomous mobile robots. CEO Ben Waters shares some startup advice and the future of wireless charging in space.
Ken Goldberg and Jim Liefer from Ambi Robotics join the program to discuss the company's approach to piece-picking robots and how Sim2Real AI is playing a major role.
We also break down WTWH Media's acquisition of Mobile Robot Guide and how it'll educate potential buyers about the benefits of mobile robotics systems.
We also chat with Paul Mikesell, founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics, who takes us inside the development of the company's third-generation weeding robot.
Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2 Robotics, and Travis Schneider, business development manager of RE2 Robotics, discussed the evolution of the company, which was founded in 2001. RE2 was focused nearly 100% on defense work in 2016, but now the defense sector accounts for less than one-third of its business. We also discuss the company's new Sapien line of intelligent robotic arms and adding more autonomy to its manipulators.
Kevin Blankespoor, VP of product engineering at Boston Dynamics, takes us inside the development of Stretch, the box-moving robot the company introduced this week. Blankespoor describes the evolution of the product design, the many system integration challenges, plans to improve the Pick vision system going forward, similarities between Atlas, Spot and Stretch, and much more.
Suma Reddy, CEO of agriculture robotics startup Future Acres, discusses the challenges farmers are facing today and how automation can help.
I also discuss the most interesting stories of the week, including laser sounds from Mars, the truth about Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" beta software and rumors surrounding Amazon's secretive home robot Vesta.
Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO of OnRobot, discusses advancements in end of arm tooling and what's next for the industry. Juan Aparicio, VP of Product at READY Robotics, talks about simplifying programming interfaces to democratize the use of robotics.
Kevin Dunlap of Calibrate Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, joins the program to discuss the SPAC craze, recent robotics investments, and his thoughts about the state of the industry.
I also hit on the robotics stories of the week, including Motional testing Level 4 robotaxis in Las Vegas, NASA's video of the Perseverance Rover landing and more.
Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics, discusses the company's $150 million Series E funding round and new unicorn status. He also explains why Locus should be a publicly-traded company.
Will Wilder, CEO of Wilder Systems, joined the show to discuss the cobot system his team built that automates rapid COVID-19 testing results. He said the system is being adapted to help test for other viruses, such as Ebola and Zika.
We also celebrate the incredible team at NASA JPL for putting robots back on Mars.
Helen Greiner, CEO of Tertill, a Boston-based startup developing gardening robots, joined the show to talk about how she will help the startup scale. She also discussed the challenges of developing consumer robots and how her experience co-founding iRobot will help. We also talk drone delivery and what went wrong at her commercial drone company CyPhy Works.
Tom McCarthy joins the show to discuss how Motiv Space Systems is developing a robotic arm to survive the extreme cold of the Moon’s South Pole. The COLDarm can survive temperatures as environments as cold as –279°F. COLDarm could be headed to the Moon in 2024.
I also talk to Ben Upcroft, VP of Technology at Oxbotica, a company developing autonomy software for all sorts of autonomous vehicle applications, both off-road and on-road. We discuss the keys to infrastructure free navigation, the acceleration of innovation in the autonomous vehicle space and why Level 5 robotaxis might never arrive.
And I discuss how Spot Arm will improve Boston Dynamics' Spot quadruped and the disappointment of Waymo not expanding its robotaxi service in Arizona.
For the first time, yearly orders of robots from non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive robot orders, as sales of robotic units in North America increased 3.5% in 2020 from 2019. A3 president Jeff Burnstein takes us inside the numbers and what it means for the future of robotics.
We also introduce you to Canvas, a startup that recently exited stealth mode. It's trying to automate drywall finishing using robotics. We learn about the challenges and opportunities for Canvas' system.
We recap the top stories of the week, including Softbank's ever-changing robotics strategy, AutoX launching a fully driverless robotaxi service in China, and Amazon launching a new robotics upskilling program.
American Robotics became the first drone company approved by the FAA to operate automated drones without human operators on site. Reese Mozer, CEO & co-founder of American Robotics, joined the podcast to discuss the implications for the company and the industry. He takes us through the technical capabilities of the company's drones, how humans will remain in the loop, and what types of missions its drones will now carry out.
I also comment on the week's top robotics stories, including Marc Raibert weighing in on Atlas' dance skills, President Trump pardoning Anthony Levandowski, and Cruise raising another $2 billion and sending its autonomous vehicles over to Japan.
Greg Smith, president of Teradyne’s Industrial Automation Group, takes us inside the company's acquisition strategy. Teradyne's industrial automation portfolio include leading companies Universal Robots, Mobile Industrial Robots, Energid and AutoGuide Mobile Robots.
Teradyne is still looking for acquisitions, and Greg tells us what Teradyne looks for in companies. Was Teradyne interested in Boston Dynamics before it was acquired by Hyundai for nearly $1 billion?
Greg also shared that Universal Robots sold more than 9,000 cobots in 2020 alone, and he offered a unique perspective on mobile manipulation, saying the ROI is a challenge.
Matanya Horowitz, founder and CEO of AMP Robotics, discusses his pick-and-place robots that improving the economics of the recycling industry. Matanya discusses the technical and business challenges involved in running the company, as well as the evolution of its custom vision system and gripper. He also tells us how the data collected by the vision system is opening up new revenue streams.
I also spoke to Josh Fox, an applications engineer at Festo USA. Josh was part of the team that won the recent MassRobotics-GM gripper challenge. Josh takes us inside the challenges and details the universal end effector Festo developed to handle a variety of sheet metal parts.
What robotics company had a better 2020 than Boston Dynamics. Michael Patrick Perry, Boston Dynamics' VP of business development, joins the podcast discuss the company's massive year and, of course, being acquired by Hyundai Motor Group for $880 million.
We also catch up with Dr. Timothy Chung, program manager for the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Tim takes us inside the recently completed Cave Circuit Virtual Competition and shares some of the lessons that were learned.
Aurora's acquisition of Uber's self-driving unit takes center stage on episode 27. We break down the acquisition and try to figure out why Aurora would have purchased Uber's troubled self-driving unit.
We also catch up with Joel Reed, the interim executive director of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network. Joel updates us on the status of the cluster, tells us about some interesting companies to watch, his daily sightings of autonomous vehicles, and how the cluster has handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jud Kauffman and Joe Wolfel, co-founders of Austin, Texas-based startup Terradepth, are building autonomous submarines for deep ocean exploration. Its long-term goal is to build the Google Earth of the ocean. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of Terradepth's mission and how their Naval experience is playing a vital role.
We also chat with Nader Elm, CEO and co-founder of Exyn Technologies. Exyn is a spin-off of the GRASP Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania that builds autonomous drones that are operating in GPS-denied environments such as mines.
We talk to Dextrous Robotics CEO and co-founder Evan Drumwright about its approach to automating the unloading of box trucks. This might be the next big problem for robotics companies to solve, and Dextrous is taking a unique approach.
We also discuss the remake of Short Circuit and share our all-time favorite robotics movies. Other discussions include recent robotics investments, Motional's Level 4 autonomous vehicles coming to Nevada and a new study analyzes the ongoing robots vs. jobs debate.
We break down why Softbank is reportedly looking to sell Boston Dynamics to Hyundai for upwards of $1B. Hyundai would be the third owner of Boston Dynamics in the last 7 years. What's the reason for the sale: slow commercialization from Boston Dynamics, soured investments from Softbank or both? We discuss.
We're also joined by Aaron Prather, FedEx's senior advisor of technology, research and planning, to discuss FedEx's growing use of robotics, his work on mobile robot interoperability, advice for startups, and his thoughts on Boston Dynamics and more.
We break down the fallout between Bossa Nova and Walmart with Simbe Robotics' Brad Bogolea. Andrew Smith, CEO and Founder of Outrider, joins the show to discuss the challenges and opportunities of developing level 4 autonomous yard trucks.
Mike Tremblay, president and CEO of Invest Ottawa, takes us inside the new Area X.O R&D facility that hopes to advance Canadian robotics. We also list the world's spookiest robots, and catch up with Buck Jordan, President and Chairman of Miso Robotics, to discuss the expanded trials with White Castle and the future of food automation.
Dave Evans, Founder and CEO of Fictiv, discusses the importance of a company's manufacturing and supply chain ecosystems. We breakdown case studies from Hebi Robotics and Gecko Robotics. We're also joined by Marc Alba of NTT Disruption, which is the new owner of the Jibo social robot. Marc updates us on the current status of the robot and the new direction in which it's headed.
Tessa Lau, founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, updates us on the FieldPrinter building layout robot. She discusses how the company pivoted away from its initial product idea, its custom localization, mapping and navigation technology, building relationships with builders, and scaling its field operations team.
We also discuss the expansion of Waymo's driverless robotaxi program around Phoenix. Where will the service head to next and when? We discuss.
Bert Swift and Blair Locke, CEO & Co-founder of Coapt, join us to discuss the state of robotic prosthetics. Bert, who lost an arm to childhood cancer, shares his story and how a robotic prosthetic has changed his life.
Georg Stieler gives us an inside look at China's robotics industry, we catch up with Motional CTO Laura Major on all things robotaxis, and Toyota Research Institute is developing a ceiling-mounted gantry robot for your kitchen.
Doug Teany, COO, Corindus Vascular Robotics discusses robotic-assisted surgery, 5G hype vs. reality, and being acquired by Siemens Medical Solutions for $1.1 billion. We also talk about Helen Greiner joining a gardening robotics startup, privacy issues with Amazon Ring's indoor security drone and more.
Sarcos Robotics' Ben Wolff joins us to discuss the challenges and opportunities of full-body exoskeletons. We talk about Uber's self-driving car division reportedly being low on cash. And Clearpath Robotics' Dave Niewinski is back to chat about developing ROS support for Boston Dynamics' Spot quadruped.
Ayanna Howard and Monroe Kennedy III, academic co-leads of Black in Robotics, discuss diversity and inclusion issues in the robotics industry. They share their personal journeys, challenges they overcame, and what can be done to level the playing field for minorities in robotics and engineering fields.
Daniel Theobald, founder & CEO of Vecna Robotics and a founder of MassRobotics, joins us to talk about his passion for agriculture and the state of autonomous mobile robots. We also recap robotics investments and acquisitions from August 2020 and check in with Brady Watkins, Senior VP & GM at SoftBank Robotics America.
Oliver Mitchell, venture partner at ff Venture Capital, talks all things robotics investments. We discuss current robotics trends, how startups can deal with COVID-19, the autonomous vehicle bubble and more. And are Amazon delivery drones finally coming to the US? We discuss the impact of Amazon's recent FAA approval.
We talk about all things mobile robots with Jason Walker, CEO & Co-founder of Waypoint Robotics. He discusses his affinity for ROS, how his experience as a racecar engineer prepared him for robotics, and why mobile manipulation is a trend to watch. We also catch up with Thomas Visti, who recently stepped down as CEO of Mobile Industrial Robots, to learn about his next chapter helping Danish entrepreneurs.
We talk to Qualcomm's Dev Singh about the affects 5G and edge computing are having on robotics. We also touch upon Qualcomm's involvement in NASA's Mars 2020 Mission. Gene and Steve recap the latest news and robotics investments trends and talk about the economics of delivery robots with Kiwibot's David Rodriguez.
We talk to Veo Robotics' Patrick Sobalvarro about how robotics can help solve today's manufacturing challenges. We discuss Amazon scooping up vacant retail spaces, iRobot getting tariff relief, and a Starship delivery robot driving straight into a canal. We also take you inside our teleoperation of Boston Dynamics' Spot robot from nearly 3,000 miles away.
Show Notes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKMeMb9CF8E https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=Bex%20Morgan&epa=SERP_TAB
We discuss the state of autonomous trucking with Kodiak Robotics and get its take on middle-mile logistics. We also hit on former Google executive Anthony Levandowski heading to prison for stealing trade secrets from Waymo, walking Spot from 3,000 miles away, and we catch up with The Ventilator Project.
On Episode 9 of The Robot Report Podcast, we talk re-skilling coal miners with Kathy Walker of the eKentucky Advanced Manufacturing Institute, and maxon's crucial role in the Perseverance Rover mission to Mars. We also discuss the return of Jibo and Boston Dynamics' partnership with Ford.
On Episode 8 of The Robot Report Podcast, we talk with Plus One Robotics about FedEx adopting its parcel handling robots, we discuss Waymo's exclusive partnership with Fiat, and Tom Ryden of MassRobotics updates us on how startups are dealing with COVID-19.
On Episode 7 of The Robot Report Podcast, we talk with the founders of Hello Robot, which came out of stealth with the Stretch mobile manipulator. We also hear from Miso Robotics, which just launched a pilot project with White Castle, the oldest fast food chain in the world.
On Episode 6 of The Robot Report Podcast, we profile the Pickle Robot Company, a Boston-based robotics startup developing the Dill parcel handling robot. We also discuss Softbank's dancing robots at Japanese baseball games, and discuss the benefits of ROS on Windows 10 with Clearpath Robotics' Dave Niewinski.
On Episode 5 of The Robot Report Podcast, we recap the top stories of the first half of 2020. We also talk with Chris Thayer, who has worked on space robotics systems for 15-plus years.
On Episode 4 of The Robot Report Podcast, 6 River Systems co-founder Chris Cacioppo discusses the Shopify acquisition for nearly $500 million, creating a culture of innovation, and mobile robot trends to watch. Gautam Narang, CEO and Co-founder of Gatik also joins the podcast to discuss Level 4 autonomous vehicles for middle-mile logistics, the changing investment landscape of autonomous vehicles, and why Level 5 autonomous vehicles are at least a decade away.
On Episode 3 of The Robot Report Podcast, Michael Patrick Perry of Boston Dynamics discusses the commercial launch of the Spot quadruped and we catch up with Universal Robots President Jürgen von Hollen.
Paolo Pirjanian, Founder and CEO of Embodied, joins The Robot Report Podcast to talk about the moonshot of developing the Moxie companion robot.
Jonathan Hurst, Co-founder and CTO of Agility Robotics, joins the podcast to talk about the challenges and opportunities of developing legged robots. Hurst also discusses the evolution of his company's legged robots, Cassie and Digit, comparisons to Boston Dynamics, and much more.